Hal Stratton
Encyclopedia
Harold D. “Hal” Stratton, Jr. (born December 6, 1950) is an American lawyer currently practicing law with the Albuquerque
office of the Denver
based western regional law firm
, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
LLP. In addition to a career in the private practice of law
, he has served in the New Mexico House of Representatives
(1979-86), as the Attorney General of New Mexico (1987-1990) and as the Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(2002-2006).
on December 6, 1950 and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation
. At age 5, his family moved to Oklahoma City
where he grew up and graduated from John Marshall High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma
on a geology
scholarship and earned a bachelors degree with a major in geology in 1973. He also graduated from the University of Oklahoma Army R.O.T.C. program as a distinguished military graduate. He later attended law school
at the University of Oklahoma where he earned a juris doctorate degree in law in 1976, and was a member of the American Indian Law Review. After law school, Stratton served on active duty in the U.S. Army before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico to begin the private practice of law with the law firm, Coors, Singer and Broullire, in 1977.
, the New Mexico Judicial Counsel and the Radioactive Waste Consultation Committee. Stratton was named the American Legislative Exchange Council
’s Legislator of the Year in 1981.
During the course of his tenure at the CPSC the agency implemented the largest recall in U.S. history involving children’s vending machine jewelry and imposed the largest penalty on an industry stakeholder for failure to report the distribution of dangerous products. During that same time, the CPSC worked on a number of other product issues involving ATVs, upholstered furniture, gasoline generators, and various toys and juvenile products including baby bath seats
(RGF). The RGF was founded as an academic free market think tank
to provide economic research for decision makers in New Mexico. The RGF website at [www.riograndefoundation.org] states:
"The Rio Grande Foundation of New Mexico is an independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to the study of public policy. The Foundation promotes prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility. The Rio Grande Foundation neither seeks nor accepts government funding. The Foundation relies solely on generosity of individuals and institutions in the private sector to fund its activities."
After being nominated as Chairman of the CPSC, Stratton resigned as Chairman and President of the RGF and severed all ties with the organization. After Stratton’s departure in 2002, Messenheimer continued operation of the organization which is now run by President, Paul Gessing.
After leaving the CPSC in 2006, Stratton joined the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm, Dykema Gossett
, where he practiced until April 2008. He then returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico to join the Albuquerque office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he now practices.
Stratton is a member of the New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and District of Columbia bars. He is also admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as a number of federal appellate and district courts.
Stratton is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law, where he teaches a law course he created, State Attorneys General: History, Powers and Responsibilities.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
office of the Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
based western regional law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP is a national law firm based in Denver, Colo. with 250 attorneys and policy consultants in offices across the western U.S. and in Washington, D.C...
LLP. In addition to a career in the private practice of law
Practice of law
In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professional services of a lawyer or attorney at law, barrister,...
, he has served in the New Mexico House of Representatives
New Mexico House of Representatives
The New Mexico House of Representatives is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature.There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico.The Speaker of the House is Ben Luján .-Composition:...
(1979-86), as the Attorney General of New Mexico (1987-1990) and as the Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Consumer Product Safety Commission
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created in 1972 through the Consumer Product Safety Act to protect "against unreasonable risks of injuries associated with consumer products." The CPSC is an independent agency that does...
(2002-2006).
Early Years and Education
Hal Stratton was born in Muskogee, OklahomaMuskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
on December 6, 1950 and is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
The Cherokee Nation is the largest of three Cherokee federally recognized tribes in the United States. It was established in the 20th century, and includes people descended from members of the old Cherokee Nation who relocated voluntarily from the Southeast to Indian Territory and Cherokees who...
. At age 5, his family moved to Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
where he grew up and graduated from John Marshall High School. He attended the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
on a geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
scholarship and earned a bachelors degree with a major in geology in 1973. He also graduated from the University of Oklahoma Army R.O.T.C. program as a distinguished military graduate. He later attended law school
Law school
A law school is an institution specializing in legal education.- Law degrees :- Canada :...
at the University of Oklahoma where he earned a juris doctorate degree in law in 1976, and was a member of the American Indian Law Review. After law school, Stratton served on active duty in the U.S. Army before moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico to begin the private practice of law with the law firm, Coors, Singer and Broullire, in 1977.
N.M House of Representatives
In 1978, at the age of 27, Stratton ran for a seat in the New Mexico House of Representatives in Albuquerque’s District 29 as a Republican and defeated the House Majority Whip by a margin of 56-44%. He was reelected to the New Mexico House three times thereafter and served a total of four terms. During his tenure in the New Mexico House, Stratton served on the Judiciary, Energy and Natural Resources, Rules and Transportation Committees. He served as the Vice Chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and in 1985-86 as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee. While in the legislature, Stratton sponsored or co-sponsored numerous criminal justice measures and other legislation designed to reduce taxes and limit the size and scope of state government. While in the state legislature, Stratton served on a number of other committees including the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State LawsNational Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws is a non-profit, unincorporated association commonly referred to as the U.S. Uniform Law Commission. It consists of commissioners appointed by each state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the United States...
, the New Mexico Judicial Counsel and the Radioactive Waste Consultation Committee. Stratton was named the American Legislative Exchange Council
American Legislative Exchange Council
The American Legislative Exchange Council is a politically conservative 501 non-profit Policy Organization, consisting of both state legislators and members of the private sector. ALEC's mission statement describes the organization's purpose as the advancement of free-market principles, limited...
’s Legislator of the Year in 1981.
New Mexico Attorney General
In 1986, Stratton was elected to the office of New Mexico Attorney General. He is the only Republican to be elected to that office in New Mexico since 1928. Stratton was limited to one term as New Mexico Attorney General by the New Mexico Constitution and served from 1987 through 1990. During his term as Attorney General, Stratton brought actions to determine the constitutionality of legislative retirement, public sector collective bargaining, and the legality of the actions of the Public Employees Retirement Board as well as others. While Attorney General, Stratton successfully argued the case of Cotton Petroleum v. State of New Mexico before the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, while serving as Attorney General, Stratton brought the largest consumer action in the history of the New Mexico Attorney General’s office on behalf of New Mexico consumers against Frontier Ford gaining a $1.2 million settlement on behalf of the state and consumers.U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission
Hal Stratton was nominated by President Bush to be Chairman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in March 2002, confirmed for the position by the U.S. Senate on July 25, 2002, and sworn in as Chairman on August 2, 2002. He served in that position until resigning effective July 15, 2006. During his term at the CPSC Stratton oversaw the revamping of the CPSC website, [www.cpsc.gov], the establishment of [www.recalls.gov], the promulgation of the first major regulation by the CPSC involving mattress flammability, the establishment of a retailer reporting model for retailers reporting dangerous product,s and the establishment of the CPSC Office of International Programs. Stratton implemented the first memorandum of understanding with AQSIQ in China where he held the first Sino-US Consumer Product Safety Summit in 2005. The CPSC Office of International programs went on to implement memorandum of understandings with the largest U.S. trading partners including India, Canada, Mexico, the European Union, Taiwan, Korea, Israel as well as others.During the course of his tenure at the CPSC the agency implemented the largest recall in U.S. history involving children’s vending machine jewelry and imposed the largest penalty on an industry stakeholder for failure to report the distribution of dangerous products. During that same time, the CPSC worked on a number of other product issues involving ATVs, upholstered furniture, gasoline generators, and various toys and juvenile products including baby bath seats
Rio Grande Foundation
In 2000, Stratton, along with economist and former economics professor, Harry Messenheimer, founded the Rio Grande FoundationRio Grande Foundation
The Rio Grande Foundation is an economic policy advocacy group in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and affiliated with the U.S. nationwide State Policy Network....
(RGF). The RGF was founded as an academic free market think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
to provide economic research for decision makers in New Mexico. The RGF website at [www.riograndefoundation.org] states:
"The Rio Grande Foundation of New Mexico is an independent, non-partisan, tax-exempt research and educational organization dedicated to the study of public policy. The Foundation promotes prosperity for New Mexico based on principles of limited government, economic freedom and individual responsibility. The Rio Grande Foundation neither seeks nor accepts government funding. The Foundation relies solely on generosity of individuals and institutions in the private sector to fund its activities."
After being nominated as Chairman of the CPSC, Stratton resigned as Chairman and President of the RGF and severed all ties with the organization. After Stratton’s departure in 2002, Messenheimer continued operation of the organization which is now run by President, Paul Gessing.
Legal career
During his last semester in law school, Stratton worked for the Oklahoma City Municipal Counselor’s Office where he prosecuted DUI cases on behalf of the city and tried two jury trials. After graduating from law school, Stratton moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1977 and joined the law firm, Coors, Singer and Broullire as an associate. In 1984, Stratton and former state senator, Mickey Barnett, formed the law firm of Stratton & Barnett, which existed until 1987 when Stratton assumed the position of New Mexico Attorney General. After leaving the New Mexico Attorney General’s office in 1991, Stratton formed a law firm of Stratton & Cavin with partner Sealy Cavin, which existed until 2002 prior to Stratton’s departure to become Chairman of the CPSC.After leaving the CPSC in 2006, Stratton joined the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm, Dykema Gossett
Dykema Gossett
Dykema is a law firm founded in 1926. The firm has offices in various locations around the United States including Detroit, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. It currently employs more than 400 lawyers and lobbying professionals...
, where he practiced until April 2008. He then returned to Albuquerque, New Mexico to join the Albuquerque office of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he now practices.
Stratton is a member of the New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and District of Columbia bars. He is also admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court as well as a number of federal appellate and district courts.
Stratton is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the George Mason University School of Law, where he teaches a law course he created, State Attorneys General: History, Powers and Responsibilities.