Richard Verma

Partner

• rverma@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Rich Verma brings more than two decades of experience in the private and public sectors to help his clients handle complex legal, regulatory and policy challenges globally and in Washington.  Mr. Verma has worked on-the-ground in dozens of countries and in the highest levels of the US government.  He has significant experience advising clients about their overseas operations, particularly in emerging markets, and leading internal compliance-related assessments and government investigations.  He also has considerable experience with US export controls and trade sanctions.  With his many years of working with the senior leaders of global  companies and governments alike, Mr. Verma has been able to help his clients succeed in an increasingly  competitive and complex international business environment.

Mr. Verma most recently served in the Obama Administration as the Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs.  As a principal advisor to Secretary Clinton, he led the State Department’s budget and policy efforts on Capitol Hill, he handled over 200 Senate confirmations and managed several major congressional investigations.  He was also the Administration’s lead negotiator with Congress on Iran sanctions and the ratification of the New START Treaty.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Verma served as the Senior National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid.  For five years, he provided strategic counsel to the Senate Leader, oversaw key pieces of the Senate’s national security agenda, and played a lead role in shaping many consequential legislative initiatives in the post-9/11 era involving counterterrorism, homeland security, and intelligence reform.

From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Verma served as an officer in the US Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps where he tried over 20 criminal cases.  His military decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.  He has also worked in the House of Representatives for the late Congressman John P. Murtha and has served as a Country Director for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Eastern Europe.

Noteworthy

• Appointed to Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board (2011).
• Recipient of the National South Asian Bar Association “Pioneer Award” for years of distinguished public service (2011).
• Member of the Presidential Department of Defense Transition Team (2008). 
• Appointed to the Congressional Commission chaired by former Senators Graham and Talent on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism in May 2008.  He is a co-author of the commission’s report “World at Risk.” 
• In June 2007, Mr. Verma was selected by India Abroad as one of the 50 most influential Indian-Americans in the United States.
• Co-authored the 2003 National Academy of Sciences Report "Critical Information Infrastructure Protection and the Law: An Overview of Key Issues."

Select News & Events

• Secretary of State Taps Steptoe’s Rich Verma to Foreign Affairs Policy Board
• Rich Verma Receives Pioneer Award from North American South Asian Bar Association
• Richard Verma, Former State Department Assistant Secretary, Returns to Steptoe

Professional Affiliations

• Counselor, The Albright Stonebridge Group
• Member, the US India Strategic Dialogue, The Aspen Strategy Group
• Member, Council on Foreign Relations
• Board of Advisors, Center for a New American Security
• Board of Directors, The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs
• Board of Directors, Human Rights First
• Senior National Security Fellow, Center for American Progress
• International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations (2002)
• Trustee, Lehigh University (1999-2002)
• President and Board Member, South Asian Bar Association (1999-2001)
• Member, National Academy of Sciences Committee on Critical Infrastructure Protection and the Law