Louis B. Stokes

Now in practice in an international law firm in Washington, D.C., Louis Stokes is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Eleventh Congressional District of Ohio. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, he earned his J.D. at Cleveland Marshall Law School, served in the United States Army, was admitted to the bar, and practiced law in Cleveland, Ohio. A much-in-demand lecturer and writer for universities and bar associations, he was the first African American elected to Congress from the State of Ohio and the first African American to retire from the House of Representatives, having completed 30 years of service.

During his tenure in Congress, he served as chair of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, the House Intelligence Committee, and the House Ethics Committee. He was a three-time chair of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, as well as chair of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Mr. Stokes also served as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and chaired the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies. He served as the second-ranking Democrat of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. Former Congressman Stokes now focuses his practice on legislative counseling in the domestic and international public and private sectors, and counsels clients on regulatory matters, specifically federal government and federal legislative issues, with an emphasis on legislative enactments and processes and effective legislative and administrative strategies. Internationally, he advises foreign government representatives and multilateral funding organizations on federal policies and procedures.