Brigham McCown

Brigham A. McCown (born July 3, 1966 in Ironton, Ohio), is an American lawyer, Rear Admiral (lower half) in the United States Maritime Service, U.S. Navy Commander and naval aviator, and former government official associated with the Republican Party. He was a Principal in the Winstead PC law firm in Dallas, Texas where he is involved in the firm's Litigation and Government Relations sections. He recently joined the Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices of Richmond-based law firm Hunton & Williams as Counsel in the firm's resources, regulatory and environmental practice group.

Mr. McCown previously served as the Administrator (interim) and Deputy Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) at the U.S. Department of Transportation. He was appointed to that position in the Bush Administration on June 27, 2005 by Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta (D-CA). [ [http://www.dot.gov/affairs/phmsa0105.htm U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Public Affairs, Press release PHMSA 1-05, "Brigham McCown Begins Role as New Deputy Administrator for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration"] ] During his tenure Mr. McCown worked in the restoration of critical national energy infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and was awarded the Transportation department's highest medal for this service. Mr. McCown was also in his position during the March 2006 BP spill of over 270,000 barrels of oil on the Alaska North Slope which lead in part to the resignation of BP CEO Lord Brown [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6284518.stm Former BP Exec's Cash on Hold] .

PHMSA is the federal agency charged with the safe and secure movement of almost 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by all modes of transportation. The agency also overseas the nation's pipeline infrastructure which accounts for 64 percent of the energy commodities consumed in the United States.

Before that Mr. McCown served as the Chief Counsel of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) where he was responsible for oversight of legal and legislative issues involving the commercial motor carrier, motor coach and moving industries. During this time, he oversaw numerous legal challenges to the new agency. During his tenure, he also oversaw numerous controversial issues including significant regulatory changes to the agency's Hours-of-Service and civil penalty enforcement regulations. He regularly appears in local and national news circuits responding to the safety of trucking and played a central role in the U.S.-Mexican debate over trucks as part of NAFTA. [http://www.azcentral.com/business/articles/1118biz-trucks1118.html U.S. Gains If Mexican Trucks Roll] . While at FMCSA, Mr. McCown was named as a discriminating official in a number of sex discrimination suits. One of these cases is pending in federal court.

Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2003, McCown was a member of Winstead Sechrest & Minick P.C., a Dallas-based law firm where he specialized in transportation, construction, energy, and public law issues.

In addition to his legal positions, McCown is also a Naval Aviator and commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy. During his two decades of active and reserve duty, he has gained experience in tactical, strategic, management, and technical issues throughout his career. He also served in Operation Desert Storm, Haiti's Operation Support Democracy, counter-narcotics operations, and most recently in Operation Unified Assistance during tsunami relief operations in Southeast Asia.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in diplomacy and foreign affairs from Miami University in 1988, and a law degree from Northern Kentucky University in 1997.

External links

* [http://www.winstead.com/Attorneys/bmccown Winstead PC - Brigham A. McCown]

References

* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Brigham_McCown SourceWatch - Brigham McCown]
* [http://www.martindale.com/Brigham-A-McCown/850333-lawyer.htm Martindale - Lawyer Profile: Brigham A. McCown]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3724/is_4_67/ai_113601978 Public Roads, Jan-Feb, 2004 "Mineta appoints chief counsels for FHWA, FMCSA - Personnel"]
* [http://bulktransporter.com/mag/transportation_government_26/index.html Modern Bulk Transporter - Government - Aug 1, 2003]
* [http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/06/dobbs.ff.9.6/index.html CNN.com - Mexican Truck Program No Cause for Fear Says Former Bush Administration Truck Safety Attorney ]