Walter McCormick (born Walter Bernard McCormick, Jr.; February 8, 1954,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

), is a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

, former

government official An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

and former

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

executive. McCormick was president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

(CEO) of the

United States Telecom Association The United States Telecom Association (USTelecom) is an organization that represents telecommunications-related businesses based in the United States. As a trade association, it represent the converged interests of the country's telecommunications ...

from 2001 to 2016. He was previously president and CEO of the

American Trucking Associations The American Trucking Associations (ATA), founded in 1933, is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. ATA represents more than 37,000 members covering every type of motor carrier in the United States through a federation ...

, Inc. He served in the

United States government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...

as general counsel of the

U.S. Department of Transportation The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the president of the United States a ...

under President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

; and as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation under the Chairmanship of Senator

John C. Danforth John Claggett Danforth (born September 5, 1936) is an American politician, attorney, diplomat, and Episcopal priest who served as the Attorney General of Missouri from 1969 to 1976 and as a United States Senator from 1976 to 1995. A member of the ...

(R-MO). He served under presidents

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

and Barack H. Obama as a member of the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee.

Early life and education

McCormick was born in Kansas City, Missouri, to Walter B. McCormick and Dorothy Power McCormick. He is a graduate of

Rockhurst High School Rockhurst High School is a private, Jesuit, all-boys preparatory school founded in 1910 along with Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It moved away from the College in 1962 to a campus on State Line Road in Kansas City. ...

, Kansas City, Missouri (1972); the

University of Missouri School of Journalism The Missouri School of Journalism, housed under the University of Missouri in Columbia, is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in of journalism and strategic com ...

(B.J. 1976); and the

University of Missouri School of Law The University of Missouri School of Law (Mizzou Law or MU Law) is the law school of the University of Missouri. It is located on the university's main campus in Columbia, forty minutes from the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. The s ...

(J.D. 1979). He studied international politics and economics at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

(1975), and completed the program for senior managers in government at Harvard University's

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

(1987).

Government service

McCormick was confirmed unanimously by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

on June 16, 1992, as the 15th general counsel of the U.S. Department of Transportation, where he served under

Transportation Secretary The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

Andrew Card Andrew Hill Card Jr. (born May 10, 1947) is an American politician and Academic administration, academic administrator who was White House Chief of Staff under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2006, as well as head of Bush's White House Iraq ...

as the chief legal officer of the department, Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Coast Guard, and third-ranking official after the secretary and deputy secretary. Prior to his confirmation, he served as general counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation in the 99th Congress; as minority chief counsel and staff director of the committee in the 100th, 101st, and

102nd Congress The 102nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 1 ...

es; and as legislative assistant to U.S. Senator John C. Danforth (R-MO) in the 97th and 98th Congresses. From 2005 to 2010, he served as a member of the President's

National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, and as a member of the U.S. Department of State's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy.

Private sector

McCormick was president and CEO of the United States Telecom Association from June 2001 through December 2016. He is a former president and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, Inc., and a former partner with the law firm

Bryan Cave LLP Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP (BCLP) is an international law firm with 31 offices worldwide. BCLP is headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. BCLP states that it specializes in Real Estate, Tax, Finance, Corporate, Litigation & Corporate Risk and ...

– where he headed the practice group on

regulatory affairs Regulatory affairs (RA), is a profession that deals with an organization’s adherence to regulatory compliance. It is a position mostly found within regulated industries, such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, cosmetics, agrochemicals (plant ...

, public policy and legislation. He is a former member of the board of trustees of

Rockhurst University Rockhurst University is a private Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 as Rockhurst College, Rockhurst University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It enrolled 2,980 students in 2019. History In 1909, Fr. ...

. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Missouri Bar, and the

Federal Communications Bar Association The Federal Communications Bar Association (FCBA) is the voluntary bar association for attorneys, engineers, consultants, economists, government officials, and law students involved in the study, development, interpretation, and practice of communi ...

Personal life

McCormick and his wife, Mary Lou, live in Alexandria, Virginia, where he serves on the board of directors of Good Shepherd Housing, a multi-denominational charitable organization that seeks to reduce homelessness.

Published writings

* ''Search of the Newsroom: The Battle for a Reporter's Privilege Moves to New Ground'', 44 Missouri Law Review 297 (1979) * ''Press Access to Jails and Prisons'', University of Missouri Freedom of Information Center Report No. 405 (June 1979) * Op-ed: `Hours of service' rule for truckers may bring economy to jarring halt, Knight Ridder/Tribune, 24 May 2000 * Op-ed: We'll give users choices,

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

, 15 February 2006 * Op-ed: Telecom industry is fighting fraud,

, 8 August 2011

References

External links

*
Walter McCormick Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee
14 June 2006
Walter McCormick Testimony before House Agriculture Subcommittee
1 May 2007
Walter McCormick Testimony before the House Commerce Communications Subcommittee
6 May 2008
Walter McCormick Testimony before House Agriculture Subcommittee
9 July 2009
Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Cramming
13 July 2011

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCormick, Walter 1954 births Living people George H. W. Bush administration personnel Georgetown University alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni Missouri lawyers Missouri School of Journalism alumni University of Missouri School of Law alumni Lawyers from Washington, D.C.