LONGMEADOW — Eric P. Lesser, who was up until January a state senator representing parts of Hampden County, has joined the law firm WilmerHale as a senior counsel.
Lesser said he’ll continue to live in Longmeadow and the firm is supportive of his involvement in civic and local projects.
gov. Maura Healey spent more than seven years as a lawyer at WilmerHale, also known as Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.
After leaving the Barack Obama White House but before becoming a state senator, Lesser was a summer associate at the firm.
The firm said Lesser will be based in WilmerHale’s Boston offices as a member of the firm’s public policy and regulatory affairs group. Lesser also said his work will take him to Washington, DC as well.
Lesser, a four-term senator, was a Democratic candidate for Massachusetts lieutenant governor in 2022.
“Eric knows Massachusetts government as few others do,” said Susan W. Murley, WilmerHale’s co-managing partner. “We’re a firm with deep roots in Boston and the state and Eric embodies those substantial connections. His level of leadership in the state Senate was truly extraordinary. Meanwhile, his knowledge of how policy is made in Washington, and the political considerations involved in government decisions, will prove very helpful to many of our clients.”
Lesser’s planned start date is Feb 1. He’s also teaching at the University of Massachusetts Amherst this semester.
“WilmerHale has a long and storied history of public service, and excels at helping clients facing challenges at the intersection of business and government policy, which is why, as someone who has focused for many years on that public-private interplay of issues, I found the opportunity to join the firm so attractive,” Lesser said. “I’m looking forward to working with my new WilmerHale colleagues and to assisting clients in getting the best possible results.”
WilmerHale said it’s lawyers’ legacy of public service includes Joseph Welch, who represented the Army during the 1950s Army-McCarthy hearings; Lloyd Cutler, White House counsel to both President Jimmy Carter and President Bill Clinton; Jamie Gorelick, former US deputy attorney general and the only woman appointed to the 9/11 Commission; and Robert Mueller, the former FBI director and special counsel on the investigation of Russian influence on the 2016 elections.
The firm’s lawyers have played a role in numerous cases of historic import, among them the Harvard University race-conscious admissions case.
During his time as a member of the Massachusetts Senate from January 2015 to January 2023, Lesser led and served on numerous committees and commissions.
He chaired the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies; the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development; and the Senate Committee on Ethics. He also was vice chair of the Joint Committee on Transportation and co-chaired the Massachusetts Special Commission on Future of Work. He has co-authored multiple laws regarding life sciences, workforce development, sports wagering, consumer protection and transportation infrastructure.
Lesser was part of President Barack Obama’s White House team from January 2009 to July 2011, serving as the special assistant to the president’s senior political advisor David Axelrod and as director of strategic planning for the Council of Economic Advisers.
He was a consultant to the HBO television show “Veep.”
Lesser earned his law degree from Harvard Law School in 2015 and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College in 2007.
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