(April 1, 1999) Former U.S. Rep. Rick White has rejoined the law firm of Perkins Coie as a partner in its Electronic Commerce and Internet Law practice section. White worked for Perkins Coie prior to serving two terms in Congress. White was one of the Congress's most active legislators on high tech issues, until he lost a close election last November to Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA).
The Tech Law Journal Congressional Scorecard 1998, which rated all members of Congress on their support for the high tech agenda, gave Rick White a 100% score.
In the U.S. House of Representatives White was active in co-sponsoring and passing many high tech bills in 1998, including the WIPO bill, the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA), and the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act (SLUSA). He was a member of House Commerce Committee, and its Telecommunications Subcommittee. He was a founder and Co-chair of the Internet Caucus. He was an ever present participant in the Commerce Committee's marathon series of hearings on electronic commerce. He also co-sponsored a bill which did not pass that would have prevented the Federal Communications Commission from regulating the Internet.
Previously, White worked on the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Tech Law Journal spoke with Rick White on March 31. "I haven't given up on politics. But I don't have any specific plans," said White. "I enjoy being home." White, who never bought a house in Washington DC, lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington.
White will work in the firms electronic commerce and Internet law practice section. "Our firm does lot and lots of business deals," said White.
"I am going to try to add some expertise from my experience in Washington DC," added White.
"There is a lot of activity in the policy area," he said. "We will be working with some coalitions of different companies." He explained that this will be "not so much lobbying," as other activities, such as "publishing articles."
"I will be in DC a lot," said White. "We do have an office there. I have a feeling I will be in DC, California, and Seattle on an interchangeable basis." White suggested that, unfortunately, he may end up travelling as much as he did when he was a Congressman.
"We couldn't be happier that Rick is back on the Perkins team," said Al Gidari, Chair of the firm's Electronic Commerce and Internet Law practice, said in a press release. "His expertise will be invaluable to our Net clients."
Perkins Coie is a huge Seattle based law firm which has over 400 attorneys in 14 offices in Seattle, Washington DC, San Francisco, and elsewhere. The firm's high tech clients include Yahoo!, amazon.com, Dell, and Visio. The firm does a little bit of work for Microsoft, said White, but Microsoft is mostly represented by the law firm of Preston Gates, where Bill Gates' father is a senior partner.
Rick White went to college at Dartmouth (magna cum laude, 1975), and law school at Georgetown University (magna cum laude, 1980). He clerked for Judge Charles Clark on the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, before going to work in Washington DC for the law firm of Covington & Burling. He went to Perkins Coie in 1983 as an associate, and became a partner in the Seattle office in 1988. In 1994 he was elected to Congress.
New contact information for Rick White includes the following:
The biography of Rick White in the Perkins Coie web site now lists him as "Richard A. White."
Perkins Coie press release.
Re: Rick White.
Date: undated.
Source: Perkins Coie.
Former Congressman to continue his work
on electronic commerce and Internet issues
Seattle ..... Law firm Perkins Coie LLP announced today that former U.S. Congressman Rick White has rejoined the firm as a partner in its Electronic Commerce and Internet Law practice.
White left Perkins in 1994 after being elected to represent the First District of Washington in Congress, where he served two terms. In Congress, he led the fight to keep the Internet free of government regulation. As a member of the powerful House Commerce Committee, White was one of a handful of members who developed the final Telecommunications Act that became law in 1996. In addition, he founded and co-chaired the Congressional Internet Caucus whose purpose is to teach members of Congress about the Internet and technology issues.
"You can't find a better place than Perkins Coie to work on the electronic commerce issues I started working on in Congress," said White. "The Seattle area is ground zero for the technology revolution, and Perkins Coie has one of the best Internet law practices in the United States. I'm going to try as hard as I can to make it even better."
"It's also great to be home. I've enjoyed spending time with my kids, and there are lots of exciting things happening all around Puget Sound. Going back to Perkins Coie is a great way to stay involved in some of the important things that are happening in our community."
"We couldn't be happier that Rick is back on the Perkins team," said Al Gidari, Chair of the firm's Electronic Commerce and Internet Law practice. "His expertise will be invaluable to our Net clients." Perkins Coie represents Amazon.com, Yahoo!, Costco.com, Visio and Dell, among others.
White has been recognized as a leader on technology and electronic commerce issues. He was named one of the Most Wired Legislators by Wired Magazine, and Business 2.0 recognized him as one of the 25 most intriguing minds of the new economy.
While in Congress, White sponsored the Internet Protection Act, which would prevent the Federal Communications Commission from extending its regulatory grasp to the Internet, or any converging technologies, such as IP telephony. He was a co-sponsor and active booster of the Safety and Freedom through Encryption Act, which guarantees the right of Americans to use and export strong encryption products. Previously he worked on the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
He was the keynote speaker twice at the Progress and Freedom Foundation technology conference in Aspen, and the keynote speaker at a conference in Paris dealing with electronic commerce issues in Europe.
"Rick was a highly successful lawyer with us before being elected to Congress, and we're very pleased that he has decided to rejoin the firm," said Bob Giles, Perkins Coie's managing partner.
Perkins Coie has more than 425 attorneys serving clients from 14 offices in North America and Asia including Anchorage, Bellevue, Boise, Denver, Los Angeles, Menlo Park, Olympia, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Spokane, Washington, D.C., Taipei and Hong Kong. Perkins Coie represents entrepreneurs in nearly every type of business, from traditional enterprises such as manufacturing, aerospace, banking and real estate to emerging fields such as electronic commerce, life sciences, technology and telecommunications. The firm offers a full range of representation in areas as diverse as intellectual property, antitrust, trade secrets, labor and employment, real estate, environmental and land use law, and product liability, as well as business and finance.