Thomas M. Susman Esq.

American Bar Association
Sussman, Thomas M.

Mr. Susman has served as Director of the American Bar Association's Government Affairs Office since 2008. He was previously a Partner with Ropes & Gray LLP in Washington, D.C., where he conducted a diverse legislative and regulatory practice.

Mr. Susman handled legislative matters on behalf of both large and small clients – businesses, trade associations, and nonprofit organizations – in a variety of industries. He was active in seeking enactment of legislation, in obtaining appropriations for specific projects, in blocking or amending legislative proposals, and in counseling targets of congressional investigations. Typical projects involved homeland security, energy, tax code amendments, regulatory reform, intellectual property protection, environmental protection, access to government information, Native American issues, and antitrust law reform.

Mr. Susman's regulatory practice extended to a wide variety of matters, including freedom of information and privacy issues, healthcare, energy efficiency, maritime safety, and regulation of organ procurement. He also counseled clients on antitrust and trade regulation matters, with an emphasis in the health care area, and represents clients responding to federal and state antitrust investigations.

Before joining Ropes & Gray in 1981, Tom served on Capitol Hill for over 11 years. He was Chief Counsel to the Senate Subcommittee on Administrative Practice and Procedure and General Counsel to the Antitrust Subcommittee and to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Mr. Susman received his B.A. from Yale University and J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law.

 

He is the co-author of Bloomberg BNA Corporate Practice Portfolio Series No. 14-4th, Business Uses of the Freedom of Information Act.  This portfolio analyzes the federal statutory framework by which corporations and others, including public interest groups, may gain access to government-generated records or other records in the possession of government agencies. The portfolio examines the Freedom of Information Act, describing how it can be used by requesters of public information, how it protects certain exempt categories of information, and how litigation arises under the act. It also discusses the FOIA exemptions from mandatory disclosure most commonly encountered by business users of the act. The portfolio also includes practical advice with respect to obtaining and protecting business information and litigating these issues under the act.