Former White House Economic Adviser Olmem Rejoins Mayer Brown

Former White House economic adviser Andrew Olmem rejoined Mayer Brown, where clients are likely to tap his expertise to navigate coronavirus regulatory uncertainty, including rules around new Federal Reserve lending facilities.

Financial services institutions “are trying to figure out how to best navigate through these unprecedented times,” Olmem said in an interview on Wednesday, adding that his client roster will include the full range of financial services-related companies and groups.

The newly minted partner with the firm’s public policy, regulatory, and political law practice most recently served as deputy director of the National Economic Council, where he played a key role in getting the massive coronavirus CARES Act aid package through Congress, and led the Trump administration’s regulatory initiatives.

Before joining the White House, Olmem was a partner with Venable from 2013-17. And before that, he served as Republican chief counsel and deputy staff director for the Senate Banking Committee.

“Andrew’s many years of experience working at the senior levels of the White House and Congress, especially on financial services regulatory matters, coupled with his previous work in private practice, provide him with a unique expertise on the regulatory and legislative landscape for our financial services clients,” Duane Layton, co-leader of Mayer Brown’s public policy practice, said in a statement.

Olmem worked as an associate at Mayer Brown nearly 20 years ago.

Mayer Brown has been one of the few Big Law firms to publicly confirm that the coronavirus has forced them to engage in pay reductions.

In March, the firm announced its equity partners had agreed to a 20% reduction in their monthly draws, and a suspension of their distributions for the first half of 2020.

Two months later, the firm implemented a 15% salary reduction for each of its non-equity partner attorneys, as well as business services staffers who earned more than $200,000.