Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement Director

Michael R. Bromwich Biography

Michael R. Bromwich is the Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement and has served in that position since June 21, 2010.  He was asked by President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to lead reforms that will strengthen oversight and regulation of offshore oil and gas development and oversee the fundamental restructuring of the former Minerals Management Service, which was responsible for overseeing oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf.

From 1999-2010, Mr. Bromwich was a litigation partner in the Washington, DC and New York offices of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, where he headed the firm's Internal Investigations, Compliance and Monitoring practice group. Mr. Bromwich concentrated his practice on conducting internal investigations for private companies and other organizations; providing monitoring and oversight services in connection with public and private litigation and government enforcement actions; and representing institutions and individuals in white-collar criminal and regulatory matters. He also provided crisis management assistance and counseling.

After joining the firm in 1999, Mr. Bromwich conducted many major internal investigations for companies, both publicly traded and privately held, in the energy, pharmaceuticals, public accounting, and private security industries, among others; reviewed the compliance programs and policies of major companies in a variety of industries, conducted extensive field reviews of such programs and made recommendations for their improvement; and represented companies and individuals in state and federal criminal investigations. In 2002, Mr. Bromwich was selected by the Department of Justice and the District of Columbia to serve as the Independent Monitor for the District of Columbia’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), focusing on use of force, civil rights integrity, internal misconduct, and training issues. He served in that position until 2008 when MPD was determined to have achieved substantial compliance. In 2007, Mr. Bromwich was selected by the City of Houston to undertake a comprehensive investigation of the Houston Police Department Crime Lab; the investigation was widely praised for identifying serious problems in some of the Crime Lab’s operations and providing recommendations for the Lab’s improvement.

From 1994 to1999, Mr. Bromwich served as Inspector General for the Department of Justice. As Inspector General, he headed the law enforcement agency principally responsible for conducting criminal and administrative investigations into allegations of corruption and misconduct involving the 120,000 employees of the Department of Justice. He was also responsible for conducting independent audits of the Department's programs and operations.

As Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich was best known for conducting special investigations into allegations of misconduct, defective procedures and incompetence in the FBI Laboratory; the FBI's conduct and activities regarding the Aldrich Ames matter; the handling of classified information by the FBI and the Department of Justice in the campaign finance investigation; the alleged deception of a Congressional delegation by high-ranking officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and the Justice Department's role in the CIA crack cocaine controversy. During his tenure as Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich testified before Congressional committees on about 20 occasions.

Before his appointment as Inspector General, Mr. Bromwich served as a federal prosecutor in the 1980s. From 1987 through 1989, he served as Associate Counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for Iran-Contra. In January-May 1989, he was one of three courtroom lawyers for the government in the case of United States v. Oliver L. North. Mr. Bromwich's other responsibilities in that office included supervising a team of prosecutors and law enforcement agents that investigated allegations of criminal misconduct against government officials and private citizens in connection with provision of aid to the Contras in Nicaragua and serving as overall coordinator of the Iran-Contra grand jury.

From 1983 to 1987, Mr. Bromwich served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. During his tenure, he tried many lengthy and complex cases and argued many appellate matters before the Second Circuit. Mr. Bromwich served as Deputy Chief and Chief of the Office's Narcotics Unit.

In addition to his government service, Mr. Bromwich spent about seven years as a lawyer in private practice. From 1989 through 1993, he was a partner in the Washington, DC office of Mayer, Brown & Platt, where he specialized in white-collar criminal defense. Mr. Bromwich represented individual and corporate clients in state and federal administrative and judicial proceedings, conducted and supervised numerous complex investigations on behalf of individual and corporate clients and tried two cases to verdict, including the acquittal of a defendant charged with export violations that was the subject of national press attention. Earlier, from 1980 to 1983, he was an associate in the Washington, DC office of Foley & Lardner.

Mr. Bromwich has published articles in law reviews and other publications on conducting and managing complex investigations. He is also a frequent speaker and panelist on law enforcement, oversight and criminal law issues. Since leaving government in 1999, he has published articles on law enforcement, criminal justice and oversight issues in The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, and Legal Times. During his career, he has also participated in nationally televised symposia on the Independent Counsel Act, the operation of the jury system in high-profile cases and the changing role of federal prosecutors. He has also been the subject of profiles published by The American Lawyer, and the Associated Press and since leaving government has made appearances on a wide variety of nationally televised news and public affairs programs.