Alan Swendiman

Alan Swendiman is the Chief of Staff for the Office of Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA) for U.S. lmmigration and Customs Enforcement.  He has held this role since the summer of 2010. Immediately after his arrival, Swendiman was significantly involved in the restructuring of that office.  Prior to joining OPLA, he was an equity director with the regional law firm of Jackson & Campbell, P.C., in Washington, D.C., in its Business and Government Law and Real Property and Asset Management practice groups.

Swendiman has extensive government knowledge and experience.  He served as General Counsel and Acting Chief of Staff of the General Services Administration, where he was engaged in procurement, government leasing, labor and employment, legislative, litigation defense, and ethics matters.  His subsequent assignment was as Special Assistant to the President and Director, Office of Administration, where he managed the delivery of administrative support and services to the Executive Office of the President, including acquisitions, financial management,  information systems, cyber-security, human resources management, emergency  preparedness, facilities management, and security.  His most recent government appointment was as General Counsel of the United States Agency for International Development.  ln these Federal appointments, he was either the chief legal or administrative officer for the agencies.

With more than 30 years of experience in the private practice of law, Swendiman has handled a wide range of business and commercial legal matters, including government contracts, leasing, purchase and sale of real estate, employment, governance, business succession planning, and general corporate counseling.  He is a member of the Government Contracts Section of the District of Columbia Bar.  He served on the Executive Committee of Jackson & Campbell, as well as its Managing Director for a term.

Swendiman is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and was an adjunct professor at George Mason University Law School. He is admitted to practice in Maryland and the District of Columbia.