Washington, D.C. – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Marne Marotta and David Skillman as partners in its Public Policy and Law practice. Marotta and Skillman join the firm’s Washington, D.C., office from Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP.
Prior to her previous position, Marotta served in roles for Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), and Scott Brown (R-MA), where she advised members on financial services, technology, and trade issues. During her tenure on Capitol Hill, Marotta regularly interfaced with the Commerce, Budget, Small Business, and Homeland and Government Affairs Committees in the Senate. She routinely provides clients with strategic guidance and counseling, devises and implements comprehensive advocacy campaigns, and builds coalitions with allied stakeholders.
Following more than a decade of service as Deputy Chief of Staff and Counsel to Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Skillman advises clients on matters at the nexus of tax and trade, particularly regarding key national interests, such as semiconductors, intellectual property, critical minerals, and clean energy. He has developed and secured the enactment of legislation supporting renewable energy incentives, including payment mechanisms such as transferability for clean energy credits, lobbies on related trade policies, and counsels clients on advocacy strategies for successful legislative and regulatory outcomes.
“Marne and David bring significant experience in federal legislation and a robust understanding of the regulatory landscape to our firm’s global platform,” said David Wochner, managing partner of K&L Gates’ Washington, D.C., office. “As a team, their track records speak volumes to their impressive abilities and client roster, and we welcome the service they will continue to provide their existing clients as well as the additional depth they will offer our clients as they settle into their new roles here at K&L Gates.”
Michael Scanlon, a leader of K&L Gates’ global Policy & Regulatory practice area, stated: “Marne and David have extensive knowledge of the complex legal and policy dynamics across a number of industries. We are excited to have them join the firm’s Washington, D.C., office and look forward to the value they will add to our clients around the globe.”
The arrival of Marotta and Skillman further bolsters the Washington, D.C., office following the addition of several other new lawyers and policy professionals, including the firm’s first national security advisor Marissa Cloutier, national security and international trade partners Nate Bolin and Dave Allman, energy partner Thomas Allen, healthcare counsel Amanda Smith, and the firm’s first senior scientific advisor Peter Coneski. Within the firm’s Public Policy and Law practice, counsel Tara Ganapathy recently joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, bringing an emphasis on Congressional oversight, political law, and white-collar investigations. Ganapathy joined the firm from the White House Office of Management and Budget, where she held the role of senior counsel in the Office of the General Counsel.
With a significant team of bipartisan lawyers and policy professionals who have more than 500 years of combined government experience, members of K&L Gates’ Public Policy and Law practice work with clients through the entire policy life cycle—from legislation to regulation and dispute resolution. The group is one of the largest public policy practices of any global integrated law firm.