Richard D. Klingler

RICHARD D. KLINGLER’s practice focuses on advice and litigation involving constitutional law, administrative law, national security, privacy and cross-border issues, often for clients in the communications, finance, technology and energy sectors.

Richard joined the firm in 1990 and first became a partner in 1996. He served from 2006–2007 as the General Counsel and Legal Adviser on the National Security Council staff. From 2005–2007, he served in the Office of the Counsel to the President, concluding as Special Assistant and Senior Associate Counsel to the president. He worked from 1997–2002 as an investment banker with Credit Suisse First Boston on equity capital market and M&A transactions and from 1994–1996 worked in Australia (while a Sidley lawyer) as Regulatory Adviser and then Regulatory Counsel for Telstra Corp.

Richard has been an Adjunct Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, addressing counter-terrorism legal issues, and, from 1993–1994, was a Guest Scholar at The Brookings Institution, which published his book, The New Information Industry: Regulatory Challenges and the First Amendment (1996). He has testified several times before Congress on constitutional, counter-terrorism and sovereign immunity issues, and has written on public policy matters for various national publications. He serves on the Board of the National Veterans Legal Services Program and as a Public Member of the Administrative Conference of the United States.

Illustrative matters include:

• Administrative law. Participated in agency rulemaking and adjudicative proceedings and in judicial challenges to administrative rules and orders, in the telecommunications, finance, energy and other sectors. For example, successfully argued Loan Syndications and Trading Ass’n v. SEC, 882 F.3d 220 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (setting aside a Dodd-Frank Act rule). 
• Constitutional law. Participated in U.S. Supreme Court and federal court of appeals cases in favor of broad Congressional and Executive Branch counter-terrorism powers, judicial power over foreign actors harming U.S. interests, First Amendment rights of electronic media companies, the appropriately limited scope of the Establishment Clause and recognition of Second Amendment rights (in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008)). Challenged, on separation of powers grounds, President Obama’s purported exercise of authority to bar construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline.  
• National security and counter-terrorism. Litigated various cases involving the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act, including Second Circuit, U.S. Supreme Court, and other proceedings on behalf of terrorism victims in In re Terrorist Attacks of September 11th, 2001 (various, 2008-present). Represented military officials or veterans in benefit proceedings and against claims arising from counter-terrorism initiatives, e.g., Lebron v. Rumsfeld, 670 F.3d 540 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 567 U.S. 906 (2012). Filed multiple U.S. Supreme Court amicus briefs supporting broad U.S. counter-terrorism powers, including in Sokolow v. PLO, No. 16-1071 (2017) (on behalf of a bipartisan group of 23 U.S. Senators), and represented terrorism victims in Ministry of Defense (Iran) v. Elahi, 556 U.S. 366 (2009).
• Privacy and data regulation. Advises telecommunications and technology companies regarding responses to state and federal government demands for customer information and regarding cooperation with U.S. government initiatives and compliance with FISA, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, CALEA and privacy regulations.
• Review of merger transactions. Participated in litigation and/or regulatory review concerning large merger transactions — for example, transactions involving AT&T and Time Warner, AT&T and DIRECTV, and AT&T and T-Mobile USA.