On June 26, 2003, President George W. Bush nominated Scott J. Bloch for the position of Special Counsel at the Office of Special Counsel. The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Mr. Bloch on December 9, 2003. On January 5, 2004, he was sworn in to serve a five-year term.

Mr. Bloch brings over 17 years of experience to the Office of Special Counsel, including litigation of employment, lawyer ethics, and complex cases before state courts, federal courts and administrative tribunals. He briefed and argued cases before state and federal appellate courts.

From 2001-2003, Mr. Bloch served as Associate Director and then Deputy Director and Counsel to the Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he worked on First Amendment cases, regulations, intergovernmental outreach, and programmatic initiatives. Before serving in the Justice Department, he was a partner with Stevens & Brand, LLP, of Lawrence, Kansas, where he practiced in the areas of civil rights law, employment law, and legal ethics. Mr. Bloch tried jury trials before state and federal courts, representing employees and employers in cases involving whistleblower and other retaliation claims, as well as civil rights claims. He worked on important cases that set precedents in the field of legal ethics, including a ground-breaking Texas case that changed the way plaintiffs’ lawyers handle mass tort cases.

Mr. Bloch served as chair of his county Bar Ethics and Grievance Committee, investigating cases of alleged breaches by attorneys of ethics rules, and making recommendations to the state Supreme Court on disciplinary action. He also served on the state board of discipline, hearing testimony and legal arguments, and making findings on appropriate discipline of attorneys. For five years, he served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas School of Law.

Mr. Bloch earned his bachelor's and law degree from the University of Kansas, where he graduated Order of the Coif, and served on the Boards of Editors of The Kansas Law Review and The Kansas Criminal Procedure Review.

Mr. Bloch has published various articles including: “The Judgment of History: Faction, Political Machines, and the Hatch Act,” published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Labor & Employment Law (7 U. Pa. J. Lab. & Emp. L. 225 (2005), and “Don’t Bury the Hatch Act: Hidden Dangers for the Unwary and Politically Active Prosecutor’s Office Employee,” published in The Prosecutor in the September/October 2004 issue (Vol.38/Number 5, Sept/Oct 2004).

He lives with his wife, Catherine, and their seven children in Alexandria, Virginia.