DLA Piper announced today that former US Representative Charlie Dent will join the firm's Government Affairs practice in June as a Senior Policy Advisor based in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.

Congressman Dent represented Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District from 2005 to 2018. During his time in Congress, he served on the House Committee on Appropriations, where he chaired the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies. He was also chair of the House Ethics Committee from 2015 to 2017.

With more than a decade in the House, Congressman Dent has a record of success and experience in many areas, including appropriations, defense, veterans affairs, health care, manufacturing and trade, homeland security, transportation and energy. He has also been a leader on international issues such as national security, global development and the State Department, and served as chair of the Congressional Study Group on Germany.

From 1991 to 2004, Congressman Dent served in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, including eight years in the State House and six years in the State Senate.

"Charlie is highly regarded in Washington and across the country, and during his tenure in Congress developed many strong relationships with elected officials from both parties," said Ignacio Sanchez, chair of DLA Piper's Government Affairs practice. "His deep understanding of Congress and a range of international and domestic issues will be of invaluable benefit to our clients."

"Charlie's extensive experience working with Pennsylvania and multinational companies in a range of industries and his perspective as a former state and federal legislator will be exceptionally valuable," said Joe Kernen, managing partner of DLA Piper's Philadelphia office. "We are pleased to welcome him to the firm."

"I have had the tremendous honor of serving the country and my constituents for the past 28 years," said Congressman Dent. "I'm very excited to bring that experience and skill set to DLA Piper, particularly given the firm's growing offices in both Philadelphia and Washington, and their tremendous global platform and roster of clients."

At DLA Piper, Congressman Dent joins an impressive bench of former elected and government officials that includes Senator George Mitchell, Senator Saxby Chambliss, Congressman Mike Castle, Secretary Ray LaHood, and Governor Jim Blanchard. And in recent months, the firm has seen the additions of Michael Silva, former senior vice president and chief of staff at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, George Karavetsos, the director of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations, and Grace Koh, White House special assistant for Technology, Telecom, and Cyber-Security Policy.

Congressman Dent's notable achievements and outside recognitions include:

• Congress: Authored and shepherded the successful passage and enactment of the Fiscal Year 2017 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; served as Co-Chair of the Biomedical Research Caucus; founder and Co-Chair of the Skin Cancer Caucus; prioritized providing necessary funding for veterans, service members and their families; advocated for improvement of the nation's aging infrastructure; dedicated to combating pandemic diseases in the US and abroad.
• Awards and Recognitions: Pennsylvania BIO federal legislator of the year (Pennsylvania BIO), 2014; Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence (National Association of Manufacturers), 110th Congress- 114th Congress; Spirit of Enterprise Award (United States Chamber of Commerce), 2006 – 2016.

Congressman Dent received his M.P.A. from Lehigh University and his B.A. from Pennsylvania State University.