Craig Richardson Returns to Greenberg Traurig Denver Office after 10 Years

Craig Richardson has returned to the international law firm Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in the Litigation practice group. He had been general counsel of El Paso Corporation’s Pipeline Group, the largest network of natural gas pipelines in North America, for the past 10 years. Richardson will be based in the firm’s Denver office.

“Having previously worked with Craig as both a colleague and a client, I can say he is unequivocally one of the best lawyers I have ever worked with,” said Brian Duffy, co-president of Greenberg Traurig. “Craig is a lawyer of extraordinary character and integrity and has unmatched life experience to draw upon in serving the needs of clients. We are privileged to welcome Craig back to Greenberg Traurig.”

Richardson will once again focus his legal work in the areas of commercial litigation in antitrust, oil and gas, environmental, and international business. He will join a team of 15 energy and environmental attorneys in the Denver office who cover the legal issues related to the industry from transactional to litigation matters. With more than 600 attorneys, Greenberg Traurig’s Global Litigation Practice offers firsthand experience and wide-ranging resources to protect clients’ interests in virtually every area of litigation. The practice is comprised of trial lawyers who regularly appear in state and federal courts throughout the country, as well as in appellate courts and before international arbitration panels. The firm’s lawyers have tried many cases to verdict – and have the in-house legal and technological capabilities to efficiently handle dockets of cases numbering in the thousands. With the firm’s national footprint, they are able to deliver services and handle cases in multiple jurisdictions with the dedication, responsiveness and local knowledge of a boutique firm, backed by the breadth and depth of resources of one of the largest law firms in the United States.

“We are thrilled to have Craig back after a decade of leading the legal department at a Fortune 500 enterprise through a transformative time in the energy industry,” said David Palmer, managing shareholder of Greenberg Traurig’s Denver office. “Craig brings proven leadership, judgment and experience to the full array of our clients’ needs, goals and expectations. He will play a critical role in our Denver and Mexico City offices and throughout the West as we continue to develop our already deep bench in energy litigation and transactions.”

Richardson is a retired Commander in the United States Navy Reserves. During his more than two-decade military career, he provided intelligence analysis and support in operations throughout the globe. On six occasions, he received active duty orders to the White House’s National Security Council in connection with Presidential initiatives from Haiti to Bosnia and from Afghanistan to Iraq.

In September 2001, Richardson was recalled to active duty in Operation Enduring Freedom. While on active duty for the following year, he provided space-based intelligence analysis in direct support of combat operations in Southwest Asia. For his service, he was awarded the Joint Service Achievement Medal by the secretary of defense and the Meritorious Service Medal by the president.

Prior to his legal career, Richardson worked on the staff of the Reagan White House’s National Security Council, in the U.S. Department of State’s Politico-Military Affairs and Intelligence Bureaus, in the Mutual Defense Assistance Office of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Richardson began his federal service as a Presidential Management Fellow.

Richardson currently serves on the Board of Education of the Douglas County School District, one of the largest school districts in Colorado with 65,000 K-12 students, 6,000 employees, and a half-billion-dollar operating budget. In this capacity, Richardson has helped spearhead 21st century innovations in school choice and teacher pay for performance which have received national attention and media coverage in the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles TimesThe Denver Post and other publications.

Richardson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Pomona College in Claremont, CA. While at Pomona, he was named the Harry S. Truman Scholar from California, an award created by Congress in memory of the former President. He studied Central American history and politics at the Universidad de Costa Rica, as a Rotary International Scholar. He received a Master’s degree in international economics and national security at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.  While at Princeton, he served as an assistant to the former Under Secretary of State and Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, Ambassador George W. Ball. He earned his law degree at Stanford University.

A California native, Richardson is licensed to practice law in California and Colorado. He is a member of the California, Colorado and Denver Bar Associations and of The Federalist Society.

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