NAFUSA member and former Attorney General of the United Staes Dick Thornburgh announced his retirement from K&L Gates. Thornburgh began his legal career as an associate with K&L Gates in 1959, going on to hold multiple key roles in the firm’s Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C., and Boston offices at various times in the following decades.

Thornburgh spent a decade with K&L Gates prior to his successful 25-year career in government, leaving the firm in 1969 to serve as a United States Attorney and later, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. He was elected Governor of Pennsylvania in 1978 and again in 1982, during which time he presided over the response to the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island, one that is still studied today as a model of crisis management. Thornburgh went on to serve as United States Attorney General under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. As Attorney General, Thornburgh played a leading role in the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He subsequently served as Under Secretary General at the United Nations, and returned to K&L Gates in 1994, remaining with the firm until his retirement.

James Segerdahl, K&L Gates’ Global Managing Partner, commented: “It has been a great and humbling honor to be associated with Dick. Our firm, the Commonwealth, the Nation, and the world have all been beneficiaries of Dick’s high standards, unwavering integrity, and outstanding public service. When not serving in his many and esteemed public roles, we were privileged that Dick spent his time in private practice with only one firm, K&L Gates. Dick has made many outstanding contributions to our firm and clients; we thank him for those as well as his remarkable work as a public servant, and wish Dick all the best in his retirement.”

Thornburgh has received honorary degrees from 32 colleges and universities. For his dedication and contributions to the legal profession, Thornburgh received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” in 2006 from The American Lawyer magazine. He was similarly honored in 2013 by The Legal Intelligencer as being among those who “represent the best the Pennsylvania legal community has to offer” and has been recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of “ten legendary Washington lawyers who will forever leave their mark on the District’s legal landscape.”

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