Shannen W. Coffin

Partner

• scoffin@steptoe.com
• vCard
• Washington Office

Shannen W. Coffin co-chairs the firm's Crisis Management Practice and is a member of the Litigation Department.  Mr. Coffin's substantial experience as a senior lawyer in the federal government, as well as his private practice experience representing clients in complex trial and appellate litigation, give him unique insights into preparing for and responding to legal challenges.       

As a senior legal official of the federal government, Mr. Coffin gained unique insights into the operation of the federal government.  From 2005 to 2007, he served as Counsel to the Vice President of the United States, a position in which he acted as both chief legal advisor to the Vice President and general counsel for the Office of Vice President.  

As the Counsel to the Vice President, Mr. Coffin provided legal advice to the Vice President and his staff on constitutional, regulatory, national security, and related policy issues.  He coordinated the OVP's response to congressional investigations and to litigation in both trial and appellate courts.   He further participated in the inter-agency process on behalf of the OVP with respect to a variety of federal regulation and legislation, and handled federal and state election and ethics law matters for the OVP.

Earlier in his federal service, Mr. Coffin served as the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Federal Programs Branch in the US Justice Department’s Civil Division. There, he was responsible for overseeing and coordinating trial litigation on behalf of the federal government for constitutional challenges to federal statutes, statutory and constitutional challenges to agency programs, defense of national security and anti-terrorism programs, and employment litigation on behalf of federal agencies.

He has personally argued numerous significant litigation matters for the federal government in both trial courts and courts of appeals, including constitutional challenges to Presidential action, disputes over access to government information, and an intervention by the federal government into a major labor-management dispute. 

Noteworthy

• Counsel to the Vice President of the United States, 2005–07.
• Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Federal Programs Branch, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, 2002–04.

Select News & Events

• BNA's International Trade Reporter Profiles Steptoe's Cert Petition for SKF USA Inc.
• Shannen Coffin Returns to Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Selected Publications

• Toxic Torts and Indian Tribal Courts: An Examination of the Ninth Circuit Ruling in Town Pump Inc. v. LaPlante
  December 16, 2010, Toxics Law Reporter
• Contributor, National Review and National Review Online
• Hot Seat: Coordination Critical in Crisis Management
  November 2008, Counsel to Counsel Magazine
• “An Examination of Cheney v. US District Court: A Win for the Executive,” Federalist Society White Paper, June 2004.
• Mark F. Horning and Shannen W. Coffin, “Constitutional Regulation” of Private Actors: A New Threat to Free Enterprise? Washington Legal Foundation Critical Legal Issues: Working Paper Series No. 88, September 1998.
• Richard K. Willard and Shannen W. Coffin, Prison Capacity & “Low-Level” Drug Offenders, Washington Legal Foundation Critical Legal Issues: Working Paper Series No. 60, February 1995.

Professional Affiliations

• Federalist Society on Law and Public Policy: Vice–Chairman, Publications (2000-02); Vice–Chairman, Committee Oversight (1997-99)