Former Bush Procurement Aide Heads to Venable

Robert Burton, former deputy administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, joined Venable as a partner in its government contracts group on Sept. 2.

In his previous role, Burton was responsible for the government's acquisition policy and procurement guidance to all executive branch agencies. His office was charged with developing policy affecting more than $400 billion in annual federal spending — a figure that doubled during Burton's time in office due in part to the Iraq War.

Burton filled in as the interim administrator of the office after his boss, David Safavian, was convicted of lying and obstructing justice in 2005. Safavian was the highest-ranking government official to be convicted in the scandal involving disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

After leading the office through the Safavian controversy, Federal Computer Week, which tracks government-related IT news, named Burton the top "2007 Power Player in Procurement," calling him the "steady hand on the wheel."

But Burton was not selected to succeed Safavian. The post went instead to Paul Denett, who has led the office since 2006.

At Venable, Burton will advise clients on coming changes in procurement policies, organizational conflicts of interest issues and new ethical requirements for the field, says Thomas Madden, chair of Venable's government contracts group.

"Rob is one of the outstanding experts on procurement policy in the country," Madden says. "He's a straight shooter. This is a busy time for government contract lawyers anyway, and with the changes in the procurement field right now, he's going to be a real benefit to us."

Comments

[DCLawyer]

To set the record straight, Burton was a career civil servant (and a remarkable one at that), so the phrase "Bush aide" is probably misleading.