Judge Lawrence J. Block

Lawrence J. Block was confirmed as a judge to the United States Court of Federal Claims on October 2, 2002. Prior to his confirmation from 1994 to 2002, Judge Block served as Senior Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he worked on a number of significant issues including property rights legislation, punitive damages and class action court reform bills, the cost-benefit analysis regulatory reform act, tobacco policy, litigation and arbitration policy, and First Amendment, privacy and attendant constitutional issues arising out of high technology legislation and governmental programs.

Prior to his service as Senior Counsel, he served in various positions in the Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Reagan Administrations. From 1986 to 1990, he was an attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice. Judge Block was a litigation attorney in the Department's Commercial Litigation Branch in 1986, and from 1987-1990 served as Senior Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Legal Policy and Policy Development, where he specialized in constitutional law, particularly in the areas of federalism, takings law, separation of powers, presidential power and foreign affairs issues. As Acting General Counsel for Legal Policy and Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1990-1994, Judge Block engaged in numerous complex issues involving environmental and energy regulatory law.

In the private sector, Judge Block has had varied litigation experience involving numerous complex legal issues. From 1983-1986 he was an associate with the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate,Meagher and Flom, where his substantive areas of practice included constitutional claims involving Commerce Clause and Commercial Speech issues, financial services litigation, as well as a merger and acquisition, securities, labor and administrative law litigation.

Judge Block received a B.A. degree from New York University in 1973, graduating magna cum laude. He received his law degree from The John Marshall Law School in 1981, and after law school he clerked for the Honorable Roger J. Miner, United States District Court Judge for the Northern District of New York. Judge Block served as an Adjunct Professor at the George Mason University School of Law from 1990-91. He is the author of law review and periodical articles on constitutional law and foreign affairs issues.