Jones Walker LLP announced today that Elizabeth "Liz" Leoty Craddock, the first woman to serve as Majority Staff Director of the Senate Energy Committee, joins the firm as special counsel in the Washington, DC, office. She serves as a member of the government relations team.

Liz's work with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and her time as the Legislative Director for US Sen. Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., demonstrate her success in helping corporations, industry organizations, trade groups, and nonprofit entities work with elected and appointed officials to develop, negotiate, and pass legislation critical to the success of the US economy. Among her many accomplishments, she helped secure the bicameral passage of a package of 80+ public lands bills that had been blocked by more than three Congresses and were successfully included as part of the National Defense Reauthorization Act of 2014. As legislative director and counsel to Sen. Mary Landrieu, Liz played a key role in the passage of the bipartisan Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast (RESTORE) Act of 2012 and, previously, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). These and other pieces of high-profile, high-impact legislation have directed billions of dollars to projects in Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states. Her areas of focus include energy, environmental, natural resources, agriculture, climate change, and trade policy. After her tenure in the US Senate, Liz served as the Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs at the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), where she created, developed, and implemented programs and strategies at the state and federal levels.

"I am honored and excited to join the government relations team at Jones Walker and to embark on the next professional chapter of my career," said Liz. "After spending a decade in the Senate, focusing on issues of importance to Louisiana, and then working on behalf of many energy companies along the Gulf Coast at IADC, I am thrilled to take these experiences to benefit the firm's clients. In many ways, joining Jones Walker is a homecoming for me, bringing me back to my Louisiana roots."

With two decades of legislative and private-sector experience, Liz understands the political and business priorities of legislators, corporate leaders, and other stakeholders, and helps her clients keep their goals in view while managing the necessary steps to achieve success. Liz has been well-known for her bipartisanship and strategic thinking throughout her career. She recognizes the role and value of collaboration and compromise as primary tools for economic progress. Liz has interacted directly with Democratic and Republican Senate and House leadership, US Cabinet members, White House officials and staff, and senior executives of major national and international companies and trade groups.

"We are pleased to welcome Liz as special counsel at Jones Walker. She is a known leader in Washington, DC, and within the domestic oil and gas industry. Her experience will certainly be an asset to our team and to our clients," said Chris Johnsen, a partner in the Government Relations Practice Group and a member of the Jones Walker Board of Directors.

Before law school, Liz worked in the US House of Representatives for Rep. Karen Thurman, D-Fla., and Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich. She earned her JD from Tulane University Law School in 2005. She holds a certificate of specialization in environmental law. While attending law school, Liz served as a legal fellow for the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, Minority Staff. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.

About Jones Walker

Jones Walker LLP (joneswalker.com) is among the largest 120 law firms in the United States. With offices in Alabama, Arizona, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, and Texas, we serve local, regional, national, and international business interests. The firm is committed to providing a comprehensive range of legal services to major multinational, public and private corporations, Fortune® 500 companies, money center banks, worldwide insurers, and emerging companies doing business in the United States and abroad.