Theodore William Kassinger (born January 26, 1953) is the former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce from 2004 to 2005 and General Counsel to the

U.S. Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth ...

from 2001 to 2004 during the administration of

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

. He is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. While serving as Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Kassinger managed a $6.5 billion annual budget, and 38,000 employees, and dealt with matters of international trade and international trade policy."Deputy Secretary Theodore W. Kassinger"
"commerce.gov", accessed August 11, 2009. He was also a keynote speaker at the 2005 "U.S.–China Trade: Opportunities and Challenges Conference". Kassinger grew up in Athens, Georgia, earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia College of Environment & Design in 1974 and a law degree, ''cum laude'', from the

University of Georgia School of Law The University of Georgia School of Law (Georgia Law) is the law school of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public research university in Athens, Georgia. It was founded in 1859, making it among the oldest American university law sc ...

in 1978. Prior to his government service, Kassinger was a partner at

Vinson & Elkins Vinson & Elkins LLP (or V&E) is an international law firm with approximately 700 lawyers worldwide headquartered in Downtown Houston, Texas. The firm has offices in major energy, financial, and political centers worldwide, including Austin, Dalla ...

, a multinational law firm, based in Houston, Texas. He practised in the areas of international trade and business law and international dispute resolution. In 2009, he was reported to be an international trade attorney and partner in the Washington DC office of O'Melveny & Myers, LLP.Partner pag
"Theodore Kassinger"
accessed August 11, 2009. In 2013, Kassinger was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case. In 2015, Kassinger was named the Law360's International Trade MVP by helping to obtain crucial government clearance on massive technology deals for IBM Corp. and securing a landmark exception to the U.S. government's nearly 40-year-old ban on crude oil exports. Kassinger has been named a Top National Security Lawyer in DC by the ''Washingtonian'' Magazine annually, from 2011 to 2015.

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See also