WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 30, 2012– Arent Fox announced today that W. Jackson Coleman, a prominent oil and gas attorney who served as counsel for the US House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources and a senior attorney at the US Department of the Interior, has joined the firm’s Government Relations and Energy practices.

As counsel at Arent Fox, Mr. Coleman’s practice will focus primarily on clients in the oil and gas industries.

In coming to Arent Fox, Mr. Coleman, who worked nearly 27 years at senior levels in the federal government and with the Congress, joins former US Sen. Byron Dorgan, former US Sen. Robert Bennett, and former US Rep. Philip English, all Senior Policy Advisors at the firm. Sen. Dorgan and Rep. English are co-leaders of the firm’s Government Relations practice.

“I am very excited and honored to be joining such an illustrious group of attorneys and government relations professionals,” said Mr. Coleman. “Arent Fox’s depth of experience and leadership in providing sophisticated strategic legal and policy guidance to domestic and international energy industries make it a perfect destination for me. The firm’s global scope and resources will prove to be invaluable assets when advocating for our clients in the United States and abroad.”

“Energy policy is clearly one of the most important issues facing our country today,” said Sen. Dorgan, co-chair of Arent Fox’s Government Relations group. “It affects nearly every segment of our society from national security to economic growth to business development. Jack’s outstanding background and exceptional experience make him an invaluable resource for clients and a welcome addition to the firm.”

A recognized thought leader in the energy field, Mr. Coleman has testified at numerous congressional hearings, including testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in March 2012 on legislation related to US oil and gas resources; the House Committee on Natural Resources in September 2011 on environmental issues related to onshore oil and gas exploration and production activities and in October 2011 on the National Ocean Policy; the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in May 2011 on proposed offshore oil and gas legislation; and the Senate Judiciary Committee in June 2010 on legal liability issues related to offshore oil and gas exploration and production activities.

As minority general counsel for the House Resources Committee, Mr. Coleman advised the committee on major environmental, energy, and other natural resources law, as well as policy matters involving jurisdiction over the Department of the Interior, and major parts of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Energy. Prior to his position as general counsel at the full committee, Mr. Coleman served as counsel to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, where he was the leading House staff member on energy, power, and minerals production from federal onshore and offshore lands, including renewable power, power transmission, and energy pipeline issues.

In addition to being the lead negotiator for the House Committee on Resources in the conference on the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT), Mr. Coleman was the primary drafter of many provisions included in EPACT, including NEPA categorical exclusions for onshore oil and gas, permit processing offices, other expedited permitting procedures, and incentives for and other provisions related to oil and gas production both onshore and offshore. Enacted as part of EPACT, Mr. Coleman was the principal drafter and negotiator for the House of the Oil Shale, Tar Sands, and Other Strategic Unconventional Fuels Act of 2005 which provided the legal authority for the leasing and production of liquid fuels from America’s abundant oil shale, tar sands, and coal resources.

Prior to working in Congress, Mr. Coleman spent 14 years as senior attorney at the Interior Department, where he advised the Minerals Management Service (MMS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), litigating oil and gas leasing and operations and royalty matters. He was the lead Interior Department attorney in a 2000 US Supreme Court case regarding breach of contract claims by seventeen oil companies exceeding $700 million, involving restrictions on the rights lessees to explore for oil and gas resources on leases off Alaska, Florida, and North Carolina.

Most recently, Mr. Coleman served as the Managing Partner and General Counsel at EnergyNorthAmerica, LLC, an energy consulting firm with offices in Washington, DC, and Denver. His practice also focuses on forestry, fisheries, coastal zone management and oceans policy, public lands law, the Endangered Species Act, mining, and renewable energy, including hydropower, biomass, wind, solar, and ocean renewables.

Mr. Coleman served as a captain in the US Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps. A native of Rosedale, Mississippi, he is a graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law. He earned his undergraduate degree in accounting at the University of Mississippi.