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Department of State Attorney-Adviser David Stute rejoins Pillsbury as special counsel in Washington, DC. Tuesday, August 18, 2026 Further expanding the firm's International Arbitration and cross-border disputes capabilities, Pillsbury is welcoming David Stute back to the firm as special counsel based in Washington, D.C. Before re-joining the firm, he served for five years in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. "David's exceptional background, including his recent service as an Attorney-Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, brings invaluable insight into complex national security, treaty negotiations, and international proceedings," said Deborah Baum, Global Head of Litigation at Pillsbury. "Our clients will benefit immensely from his deep expertise, which includes major commercial arbitral institutions, investor-State tribunals, and international courts." Stute has represented sovereigns, corporate clients and high-net-worth individuals in cross-border disputes, spanning U.S. trial and appellate courts, investor-State tribunals, all major commercial arbitral institutions, the International Court of Justice, and the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal. While serving in the U.S. Department of State Office of the Legal Adviser, David advised the executive branch on United Nations affairs, national security, treaty negotiations, and proceedings in international fora. He was part of the core team that defeated the $15 billion NAFTA legacy claim against the U.S. arising from the Keystone XL pipeline project and served as the lead attorney on the International Court of Justice in the Office of United Nations Affairs. He also advised State Department leadership and worked with the National Security Council, the Department of Justice, and other agencies on U.S. and international litigation, complex treaty negotiations, nuclear liability, as well as other matters. Stute was previously an associate at Pillsbury, where he participated in over half a dozen investor-State arbitrations as well as international commercial arbitrations under ICSID, UNCITRAL, ICDR, LCIA, and ICC rules, as well as in enforcement proceedings before U.S. courts. "I am elated to rejoin Pillsbury and its tremendous cross-border litigation team," Stute said. "I hope to bring to bear, on behalf of the firm's clients, my decades of international experience on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond. I am particularly eager to help grow the firm's cross-border and treaty disputes practices, and to further deepen our focus on clients in Europe, including its German-speaking markets." Pillsbury's International Arbitration team is made up of lawyers with decades of experience adjudicating disputes administered by international arbitral institutions worldwide. Our lawyers have appeared before all major arbitration forums, including the ICC, LCIA, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, HKIAC, DIAC, DIFC, Swiss Chamber of Commerce, ICDR, ICSID, SIAC, JCAA and AAA, in all major arbitration centers, and we have conducted arbitrations under UNCITRAL Rules and on an ad hoc basis. They also have significant experience in resolving investor-State disputes and a wide variety of claims both internationally and in the U.S. through arbitration and other forms of ADR. Analysis | Jobs | News

O'Melveny adds esteemed environmental lawyer Reza Zarghamee. WASHINGTON, DC - August 17, 2026 - O'Melveny announced today that esteemed environmental lawyer Reza Zarghamee has joined the firm as a partner in the Washington, DC office. His arrival strengthens O'Melveny's environmental offerings and enhances the firm's transactional, regulatory, investigations, and mass torts capabilities in the chemicals, energy, and data center sectors. Zarghamee brings more than 20 years of experience and a broad-based environmental practice to O'Melveny. He counsels clients on a variety of corporate transactions and financing matters, including performing compliance audits, devising remediation strategies, responding to government investigations, defending against enforcement actions, providing transactional due diligence, and advising on SEC requirements. Additionally, he advises US and international corporations on allocating environmental liability in complex real estate and corporate transactions - from acquisitions and dispositions to greenfield and other infrastructure projects. Zarghamee has deep experience in the arena of chemical regulation and emerging contaminants, which encompasses a wide range of federal statutes - such as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) - as well as state laws. He devotes a significant portion of his practice to handling matters related to PFAS or "forever chemicals," advising on PFAS rulemaking and advocacy, and conducting internal audits of client exposure to PFAS. He is also a respected authority on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws for plastics and packaging and has been on the forefront of advocacy efforts on the part of industry. Zarghamee, who joins O'Melveny's Project Development & Real Estate Practice, comes to the firm from the Washington, DC office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, where he was a partner in that firm's Environmental & Natural Resource Practice and co-chair of its PFAS Task Force. His arrival accelerates O'Melveny's strategic growth. He is the 55th lateral partner to join the firm since 2023, and the seventh to join O'Melveny's Project Development & Real Estate Practice since 2020. "We are delighted to welcome Reza to O'Melveny and to our growing Project Development & Real Estate team," said O'Melveny chair Bradley J. Butwin. "Reza is a respected environmental lawyer and a trusted corporate adviser with extensive experience and a versatile skillset that will be an immediate asset to our clients - especially those in the chemicals, energy, and infrastructure fields. It is a pleasure to welcome him to our firm." "I've long admired O'Melveny from afar, and I'm excited to join the firm and work alongside such a talented group of lawyers," said Zarghamee. "O'Melveny has a premier global platform, a reputation for providing superior client service, and a collegial, collaborative culture that's second to none. It's an ideal fit for my clients and my practice." Zarghamee earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his B.A. from Columbia University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Ancient History from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.