U.S. Chamber Names Lily Fu Claffee Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce today announced that Lily Fu Claffee has been named senior vice president, general counsel and chief legal officer. In her new role, Claffee will ensure the Chamber’s compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and will represent the organization in all corporate legal matters. She will provide strategic guidance to the Chamber’s senior management and board, and help lead the Chamber’s efforts to push back against overregulation and draconian regulation that restrains job growth. Claffee will also oversee the National Chamber Litigation Center, an incorporated public policy law firm associated with the U.S. Chamber that represents business on a wide range of issues before the courts and federal regulatory agencies.

“Lily brings a breadth of legal knowledge and experience that will serve her well in managing the Chamber's legal division,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue. “Her record of more than 15 years of legal experience in both the public and private sector makes her a tremendous addition to this institution.”

Claffee comes to the Chamber from the Washington law firm, Jones Day, where she served as partner. While there, she advised corporations and their executives in litigation, regulatory, investigative, and enforcement matters.

Claffee is a former general counsel at the Commerce Department, deputy general counsel at the Treasury Department, and deputy associate attorney general at the Justice Department. She led the Commerce’s Department’s 400-attorney law division that advises 10 agency components. Prior to Commerce, she was the second-ranking legal officer at the Treasury Department where she managed the agency’s 2,000-lawyer legal unit. Before working in government, Claffee was a litigation partner at Mayer Brown, LLP in Washington, D.C.

In 2009, Claffee was named “Top Washington Lawyer” in the “Young Guns” category by the Washington Business Journal. In 2008, she received the Treasury Medal for distinguished service.

Claffee received her J.D. cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School, where she was a full merit scholar, and B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is a member of the bar of the District of Columbia.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.

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