The U.S. Chamber created the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC) in 1977 to advocate for fair treatment of business in the courts and before regulatory agencies. Steve Bokat (photographed on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court) was NCLC’s first full-time attorney and later became its executive vice president, a position now held by Robin Conrad (photographed with Bokat).

The genesis for NCLC was a 1971 eight-page memo from future Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell Jr. to the U.S. Chamber titled “Attack on the American Free Enterprise System.” Powell called on American business to defend its interests against criticisms of capitalism emanating “from the college campus, the pulpit, the media, the intellectual and literary journals.”

As the Chamber’s public policy law firm, NCLC has participated in hundreds of cases addressing a variety of legal issues at every level of the judicial system.

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