Suzanne Rich Folsom has joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips as a partner in the firm's investigations and compliance practice in Washington, D.C.

Folsom was most recently general counsel, chief compliance officer and senior vice president of government affairs at U.S. Steel Corp. from 2014 until the end of 2017. Duane Holloway replaced her at U.S. Steel in April 2018.

“Suzanne is a dynamic change agent who has been recognized as an outstanding general counsel, regulatory and compliance lawyer, and cybersecurity leader,” said Donna Wilson, managing partner-elect and CEO of Manatt, in a statement. “Her deep experience has enabled her to develop world-class business, regulatory and political acumen.”

Before her tenure at U.S. Steel, Folsom was executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance officer at private security company Academi LLC, formerly Blackwater. As Blackwater rebranded and found new investors, it created a new board of directors that included Jack Quinn, former White House counsel to President Bill Clinton and chief of staff to Vice President Al Gore. Quinn and Folsom worked together at Academi and are reuniting at Manatt, where Quinn now heads the firm's D.C. office.

“Suzanne's arrival is a sign of exciting growth for our investigations and compliance practice,” Quinn said in a statement. “Today's rapidly evolving business and regulatory environment requires interdisciplinary capabilities and collaborative thinking, so we're thrilled to harness her unique skillset and track record of success to further develop our group.”

Prior to joining Academi in 2011, Folsom was deputy general counsel and chief regulatory and compliance officer at AIG. She joined AIG in April 2008, five months before it received an $85 billion bailout from the U.S. federal government. She left the company at the end of 2009.

Folsom has charted an unusual trajectory to Big Law partner in D.C. She began her career in politics, working on presidential campaigns and as chief-of-staff to Maureen Reagan, President Ronald Reagan's daughter and co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. She later moved to Amman, Jordan, to work as private secretary to Queen Noor, before returning to D.C. to pursue a legal career at Georgetown University Law Center.

She then was an associate at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York City from 1993 to 1995 and associate and special counsel at O'Melveny & Myers for eight years afterward. She spent five years at the World Bank as counselor to the president and director of the department of institutional integrity before joining AIG.

Since leaving U.S. Steel, Folsom has served as senior adviser to technology startups, providing governance, legal, regulatory and compliance guidance, according to Manatt.