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Daron Watts Speaks With Media Regarding Move to Lewis Brisbois and Social Justice Work

Washington, D.C. (July 24, 2023) – Daron Watts recently spoke with the media regarding his move to Lewis Brisbois as well as how his practice intersects with his social justice work.  

As a Law360 article describes, Mr. Watts has joined Lewis Brisbois’ Washington D.C. office as the new national chairman of the firm's Government Affairs & Public Policy Practice. He is also a member of the Administrative Law & Regulatory, Life Sciences, Healthcare, and Complex Business & Commercial Litigation Practices.  

In discussing his move to Lewis Brisbois, Mr. Watts told Law360 that although he had a great time leading The Watts Group, yearly calls from other firms motivated him to take his talents to a private practice firm. He further explained that Lewis Brisbois provided him with a platform that was growing and that meshed well with his focuses. He described, "What the Watts Group does, things that I do and that I have in my tool kit, fit so perfectly it made it crystal clear that I had the opportunity to contribute to their strategic objective of growth and leveling up, especially through the Washington office." 

Moreover, Mr. Watts emphasized that promoting health equity and social justice, as well as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) generally has been central to his practice for the duration of his almost-30-year career. He noted that Lewis Brisbois’ global reach will help him promote DEI on a larger scale, explaining, "As soon as I learned the regulatory policy game back in the early 2000s before I even became a partner, I was getting involved in minority health and health disparities. . . . I've been doing that my entire career." 

In further discussing his entry into the regulatory arena and how that led to his healthcare advocacy work, he described, "The next thing I know, I'm learning food and beverages, drugs, dietary supplements. I'm the outside general counsel to a big trade association in the nutritional supplements and functional foods natural products space. . . . I made partner and I started to think, 'Gosh, I've got to find ways to give back more,' and that's how I focused on minority health and health disparities because I was so steeped into health by then."  

In addition to speaking with Law360, Mr. Watts recently spoke with Reuters, explaining that The Watts Group will dissolve, and the team will transfer clients and projects to Lewis Brisbois. He further noted that joining Lewis Brisbois provides him with an opportunity to "level up" the firm's growth in Washington and broaden the scope of his team's work. 

Read the full Law360 article here (subscription may be required), the Reuters article here, and Lewis Brisbois’ press release on Mr. Watts here. 

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