Michael W. Evans

Michael Evans is a partner at K&L Gates, focusing his practice on federal tax and environmental policy. In private practice, his clients have included the American Institute of Architects, the Brown-Forman Company, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, The Nature Conservancy, Sapphire Energy, Starbucks, and Weyerhaeuser.

Before returning to the firm in 2003, Mike worked in the United States Senate, including as Chief Counsel to the Senate Finance Committee (2001-2002), as General Counsel and Democratic Chief Counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (1994-2000), and as Tax Counsel and Legislative Director for Senator Max Baucus (1983-1990). In these positions, he worked on such matters as the Tax Reform Act of 1986, the Clean Air Act of 1990, the 2001 tax cuts, and various tax, environment, trade, health care, and transportation laws. He has worked on virtually every major piece of tax and environmental legislation for the past thirty years.

In addition to tax and environmental policy, Evans has particular insight into the legislative process and has written several articles about the process by which federal tax and environmental legislation is considered, including articles about the congressional budget process, the constitutional limits on revenue legislation, and the constitutional limits on environmental legislation.

Evans also was a law clerk to Judge Betty Fletcher of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and previously was an associate and later partner with Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLP.