Bio

As part of ZwillGen’s Law Enforcement team, Steve advises technology and media companies on their rights and responsibilities in responding to requests for user information by law enforcement, criminal defendants, and civil litigants. He also advises clients on data privacy issues and represents them in litigation.

Steve has two and a half decades of legal experience under his belt, including more than 12 years with the Department of Justice. As a lawyer with the Office of Law & Policy of the National Security Division, Steve litigated and provided legal and policy advice to the Department’s leadership and other Executive Branch stakeholders on issues arising from the government’s acquisition, handling, and use of data pursuant to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) and the Stored Communications Act; the implementation of provisions aimed at safeguarding sensitive information and technology; and the enforcement of counterespionage and counterterrorism laws.

During his time with NSD, and in his previous tenure with the Appellate Section of DOJ’s Criminal Division, Steve litigated novel and complex issues in federal court cases across the country. He has briefed and argued more than two dozen appeals across eight circuits, and he is one of the few advocates to have argued a case before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. Steve received numerous awards for his work with DOJ, including the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award and six Assistant Attorney General’s Awards for Excellence.

Steve also worked for eight years as a Legal Advisor to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, where he counseled judges on the broad range of legal and technological issues presented by Executive Branch requests for authority under FISA.

After receiving his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law in 1997, Steve clerked for the Honorable Gilbert S. Merritt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.