STEPHEN J. POLLAK
Senior Counsel
202.346.4178
spollak@goodwinprocter.com
Areas of Practice
Stephen Pollak’s practice consists of representing clients in trial and appellate litigation of complex civil
cases at all levels of the federal courts and before federal departments and agencies. His fields of
concentration include antitrust, constitutional, and labor law, civil rights, ERISA and legal ethics. He also
represents individuals under investigation for possible violation of federal criminal laws, as well as
lawyers and law firms against whom complaints have been lodged with Bar Counsel. Mr. Pollak served
as Special Master for the Vitamins Antitrust Litigation in the U.S. District Court for the District of
Columbia.
Professional Activities
Mr. Pollak also serves as a mediator and arbitrator. Since 1989, he has been a member of the Panels of
Mediators appointed, respectively, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and
by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Mr. Pollak is a member of the American
Arbitration Association Panel of Mediators and a member of the CPR Institute for Dispute Resolution’s
Washington, D.C., Panel of Distinguished Neutrals. He has served as a training consultant in mediation
for the Office of Dispute Resolution of the U.S. Department of Justice.
Mr. Pollak served as President of the District of Columbia Bar (1980-81) and was a member of the Board
of Governors of the Bar for four years. He served as Chair of the Bar’s Public Service Activities
Committee (1989-95) and was the leader in reorganization of the Bar’s pro bono activities. Mr. Pollak
served as President of the District of Columbia Bar Foundation (2008-09) and as a member of its Board
of Directors (2003-09). He currently serves as a member of the District of Columbia Access to Justice
Commission.
Mr. Pollak served as a member and Chair of the District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission
(1984-90, 1994-96), responsible for selection of the Chief Judges of the District of Columbia Court of
Appeals and the Superior Court of the District of Columbia as well as presentation to the President
of candidates for nomination as judges of those courts.
Mr. Pollak is President of the Historical Society of the District of Columbia Circuit and Director of its
Oral History Program. He is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.
Professional Experience
C-3
Mr. Pollak was a partner at Shea & Gardner prior to its combination with Goodwin Procter in 2004, and
served as chair of its Executive Committee from 1993-1996. Prior to joining Shea & Gardner, Mr. Pollak
served in the U.S. Department of Justice and the White House from 1961 through 1969. Among his
governmental positions were Advisor to the President for National Capital Affairs (1967) and First
Assistant and Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division (1965-67, 1967-69) and
Assistant to the Solicitor General (1961-64).
Bar and Court Admissions
Mr. Pollak is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
Recognition
Mr. Pollak is the recipient of the following awards: the Justice Potter Stewart Award from the Council for
Court Excellence of Washington, D.C. (2006); the Daniel Webster Distinguished Service Award from the
Dartmouth Club of Washington, D.C. (2005); the Thurgood Marshall Award for Service in the Public
Interest from the District of Columbia Bar (2001); and the Servant of Justice Award from the Legal Aid
Society of the District of Columbia (1994). He has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in
America.
While attending law school Mr. Pollak was Managing Editor of the Yale Law Journal and received the
Jewell Prize for highest second-year grades, and Second Prize for Best Student Contribution to Yale Law
Journal (1955-56), titled the “Expatriation Act of 1954.”
Education
LL.B., Yale, 1956 (cum laude; Order of the Coif)
B.A., Dartmouth College, 1950 (Phi Beta Kappa)
C-4