Oxford University, Balliol College, M.Phil. in International Relations, with Distinction, 1987
Princeton University, Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, A.B., magna cum laude, 1985
Phi Beta Kappa
Clerkships
Law Clerk, Justice Harry A. Blackmun, U.S. Supreme Court, 1992-1993
Law Clerk, Judge Patricia M. Wald, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit, 1991-1992
Law Clerk, Judge José A. Cabranes, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, 1990-1991
Government Service
Counselor on International Law, Office of the Legal Adviser, U.S. Department of State, 2012-2013
Special Assistant to the Deputy Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 1993-1995
Admitted
1994, District of Columbia
1998, Supreme Court of the United States
Geoffrey M. Klineberg practices primarily in the areas of administrative law and appellate litigation, representing clients in matters before the Federal Communications Commission, as well as before the United States Supreme Court and various federal district and appellate courts. More recently, he has represented clients in several high-profile antitrust litigation matters against both the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.
Geoff joined the firm in August 1995 and has been a partner since January 1998. From June 2020 to June 2021, he served as the 49th President of the D.C. Bar.
Geoff also regularly advises clients on the applicability of the Rules of Professional Conduct, having served for seven years on the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee, completing the last three years as Chair. He currently serves as the Chair of the D.C. Court of Appeals Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law.
In August 2013, Geoff returned to the firm after a one-year leave of absence as the Counselor on International Law in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State, providing advice on a wide variety of litigation issues and working with the Department of Justice and other governmental agencies to formulate the litigation position of the United States. Since returning to the firm, he has represented clients on matters relating to foreign official immunity, foreign sovereign immunity, and international comity.
Federal Trade Commission v. Meta Platforms, Inc., Mark Zuckerberg, and Within Unlimited, Inc., No. 3:22-cv-04325 (N.D. Cal. 2023).Defeated a request by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to preliminarily enjoin Meta’s acquisition of Within Unlimited, Inc.After the district court ruled in favor of Meta, the FTC abandoned its parallel administrative complaint in the administrative home court.
Successfully defended AT&T in a formal complaint proceeding before the Federal Communications Commission and before the Eleventh Circuit, which dismissed the petition for review and upheld the FCC’s determination that the complainant’s claims had been released.Saturn Telecomm. Servs., Inc. v. FCC, 632 F. App’x 591 (11th Cir. 2016) (per curiam).
Served as counsel of record for respondent AT&T Inc. in a U.S. Supreme Court case presenting the question whether Exemption 7(C) of the Freedom of Information Act, which protects from disclosure any law enforcement record the disclosure of which “could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy,” protects the privacy interests of a corporation. FCC v. AT&T Inc., 562 U.S. 397 (2011).
Publications
Shifting Tides in the Business of Law, Washington Lawyer, at 6 (May/June 2021)
“Can Boys Be Lawyers, Too?,” Washington Lawyer, at 6 (Mar/Apr 2021)
Letting the Bar’s Communities Speak, Washington Lawyer, at 6 (Jan/Feb 2021)
Reexamining the Bar Exam, Washington Lawyer, at 6 (Nov/Dec 2020)
Mater Artium Necessitas, Washington Lawyer, at 6 (Sept/Oct 2020)
Adapting to Our New Reality, Washington Lawyer, at 6 (July/Aug 2020)
Co-Author (with Janet Reno), What Would Jackson Do? Some Old Advice for the New Attorney General, 2 Harv. L. & Pol’y Rev. 197 (2008)
May 1, 2024— Twenty-three Kellogg Hansen attorneys qualified for recognition on the 2023 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for contributing fifty hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel. Twelve Kellogg Hansen attorneys also qualified for the High Honor Roll for providing one hundred hours or more of pro bono service. The District of Columbia Courts have recognized attorneys through the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll since 2011.
The complete list of 2023 Honor Roll members hail from 166 firms, solo practices, federal and local government agencies, corporations, associations, and public interest organizations, accounting for least 392,750 hours of pro bono service across all types of practice. It can be found here.
Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and Chief Judge Anita Josey-Herring of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia stated:
“Thank you for answering – and in many cases exceeding – the call to service embodied by Rule 6.1. We know that your actions stem not only from a commitment to your ethical obligations, but also from your principled belief in equal access to justice. We are pleased to recognize your dedication by including your name on this year’s Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll.”
Kellogg Hansen 2023 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll
Rachel T. Anderson*
Scott K. Attaway*
Justin B. Berg*
Geoffrey Block*
Mary Charlotte Y. Carroll*
Tiberius T. Davis
Abigail E. DeHart*
Hannah D.C. DePalo
D. Chanslor Gallenstein
Nataliia Gillespie
Jordan R. Gonzalez
Minsuk Han*
Mark P. Hirschboek
Derek T. Ho*
Geoffrey M. Klineberg*
Ariela M. Migdal
Matthew D. Reade*
Catherine M. Redlingshafer
Derek C. Reinbold*
Caroline A. Schechinger
Andrew Skaras
Alex P. Treiger*
Daren G. Zhang*
* denotes High Honor Roll
..
May 1, 2023— Twenty-seven Kellogg Hansen attorneys qualified for recognition on the 2022 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for contributing fifty hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel. Nineteen Kellogg Hansen attorneys also qualified for the High Honor Roll for providing one hundred hours or more of pro bono service. The District of Columbia Courts have recognized attorneys through the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll since 2011. The complete list of 2022 honorees can be found here.
Kellogg Hansen 2022 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll
Scott K. Attaway*
Daniel G. Bird*
L. Vivian Dong
Daniel V. Dorris
Matthew N. Drecun
Ryan M. Folio
David C. Frederick*
D. Chanslor Gallenstein*
Dustin G. Graber
Kimberly V. Hamlett*
Minsuk Han*
Ashle Holman*
Geoffrey M. Klineberg*
Jonathan I. Liebman
Eric J. Maier*
Samuel A. Martin*
Ariela M. Migdal
Bradley E. Oppenheimer*
Gregory G. Rapawy*
Catherine M. Redlingshafer
Derek C. Reinbold*
Caroline A. Schechinger*
Daniel S. Severson*
Andrew C. Shen*
Julius P. Taranto*
Alex P. Treiger*
Matthew J. Wilkins*
* denotes High Honor Roll
..
May 1, 2021— Nineteen Kellogg Hansen attorneys qualified for recognition on the 2021 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for contributing fifty hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel. Twelve Kellogg Hansen attorneys also qualified for the High Honor Roll for providing one hundred hours or more of pro bono service. The District of Columbia Courts have recognized attorneys through the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll since 2011. The complete list of 2022 honorees can be found here.
Kellogg Hansen 2021 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll
Scott K. Attaway
Alejandra Ávila*
Daniel G. Bird*
Katherine C. Cooper*
Matthew N. Drecun*
Linda A. Elliott*
Kimberly V. Hamlett*
Minsuk Han*
Vetan Kapoor
Geoffrey M. Klineberg*
Ariela M. Migdal
Aaseesh P. Polavarapu*
Catherine M. Redlingshafer
Derek C. Reinbold
Christopher M. Sarma
Thomas G. Schultz*
Julius P. Taranto*
Jayme L. Weber
Matthew J. Wilkins*
..
May 1, 2021— Kellogg Hansen attorneys qualified for recognition on the 2020 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for contributing fifty hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel. Nine Kellogg Hansen attorneys also qualified for the High Honor Roll for providing one hundred hours or more of pro bono service. The District of Columbia Courts have recognized attorneys through the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll since 2011. The complete list of 2022 honorees can be found here.
Kellogg Hansen 2020 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll
Scott Attaway
Daniel Bird
Christine Bonomo*
Matthew Drecun*
Linda Elliott*
Kenneth Fetterman
Daniel Guarnera*
Michael Guzman
Julia Haines
Jacob Hartman*
Michael Kellogg
Gerald Kerska
Geoffrey Klineberg*
Grace Knofczynski
Sean Nadel*
Bradley Oppenheimer*
Ana Paul
Eliana Pfeffer
Gregory Rapawy
Thomas Samuels*
Christopher Sarma
Thomas Schultz*
Julius Taranto
Jayme Weber
Joseph Wenner*
*denotes High Honor roll
..
July 31, 2020— Kellogg Hansen is pleased to announce that Geoffrey M. Klineberg was officially sworn in yesterday as the 49th president of the D.C. Bar. With members in all 50 states and more than 80 countries, the D.C. Bar is the largest unified bar in the United States, supporting attorneys and providing a regulatory structure to maintain the profession’s ethical standards.
Mr. Klineberg has the unique challenge of steering the D.C. Bar through a pandemic that has affected each of its 110,000-plus members and nearly all aspects of the practice of law. Since its creation by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in 1972, the D.C. Bar has been committed to advancing its core missions of enhancing access to justice, improving the legal system, and empowering lawyers to better serve their clients. In the cover story of the June 2020 issue of The Washington Lawyer, Mr. Klineberg explained how this commitment is important now more than ever.
“The Bar has always been committed to serving the needs of our members and their clients,” stated Mr. Klineberg. “As we all work to rebuild our lives, our clients will turn to us to help them navigate the most challenging and important issues they face. So while the demands may be extraordinary, we lawyers have the ability and responsibility to practice our profession consistent with our most cherished ideals: to serve those who are most in need, to represent our clients with competence and zeal, and always to comport ourselves consistent with the highest ethical standards. These times demand nothing less.”
Last night, during the D.C. Bar’s 2020 Celebration of Leadership, Mr. Klineberg formally received the gavel of leadership during the virtual swearing-in ceremony, presided over by D.C. Court of Appeals Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby. Mr. Klineberg has been serving as President since early last month after having served the prior year as President-Elect. In his remarks to the Bar, Mr. Klineberg discussed the challenges the Bar and its members will face, his optimism for how they will tackle these problems together, and his goals for his term, including an effort to provide pro bono representation before the D.C. Court of Appeals.
“Given my own practice as an appellate lawyer, I would like to build on the great work of my predecessors Esther Lim and Susie Hoffman who have created and nurtured the Pro Bono Task Force to develop an effective appellate pro bono program,” stated Mr. Klineberg. “I like this project because it encapsulates for me the three principle purposes of the DC Bar in a single program: it would enhance access to justice by helping litigants of limited means receive valuable assistance; it would improve the legal system by providing the court of appeals a more thorough and helpful presentation of the issues and it would empower lawyers to better serve their clients by providing opportunities for lawyers particularly at the beginning of their careers to brief and argue cases before our highest court.”
Mr. Klineberg practices primarily in the areas of appellate litigation and administrative law. He also advises clients on the applicability of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. He began as an associate at Kellogg Hansen in 1995 and has been a partner of the Firm since 1998 and currently serves on the Firm\'s Executive Committee.
“We are immensely proud of Geoff’s dedication and service to the D.C. Bar, its members, and the public,” commented Michael K. Kellogg, founding and managing partner of Kellogg Hansen. “Geoff is the leader needed in this moment of crisis and we are confident the Bar is in diligent hands.”
Over the past 18 years, Mr. Klineberg has worked on various committees and task forces of the D.C. Bar and the courts. He currently serves on the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Task Force, focusing on how best to encourage and facilitate the participation of pro bono lawyers to serve clients of limited means in the courts of the District of Columbia.
..
June 9, 2020— In a significant First Amendment decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit found that the U.S. Postal Service\'s (“USPS”) ban on political content used on custom stamps is unconstitutional.
Through a customized postage program, USPS allows customers to order valid U.S. postage with images and text of their own design but prohibits “political” content. Kellogg Hansen\'s clients – artist Anatol Zukerman and Charles Krause Reporting, an art gallery with whom he collaborates – had a proposed postage design rejected because it was “political.” Kellogg Hansen filed a lawsuit on behalf of Mr. Zukerman and the gallery in 2015, alleging unconstitutional censorship of political speech.
In today\'s ruling, the Court found that the USPS’s blanket ban on “political” content fails the “objective, workable standards” test articulated by the Supreme Court in Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, 138 S. Ct. 1876, 1891 (2018), and therefore is unconstitutional. The Court also held that USPS’s changes to its challenged policies in 2018 did not moot the plaintiffs’ viewpoint discrimination claims. Because others remain able to circulate “political” customized postage, while Mr. Zukerman still cannot circulate his “political” postage design, USPS’s viewpoint discrimination continues, its effects persist, and relief remains possible. The district court’s decision was reversed and the case was remanded for further proceedings.
Former Kellogg Hansen associate Daniel Guarnera argued the case. With him on the briefs were Kellogg Hansen partners Chris Todd and Geoffrey Klineberg. Associates Julius Taranto and Gabriel Kohan and former associate Michael Qin also joined in drafting the briefs.
The case is Anatol Zukerman and Charles Krause Reporting, LLC v. United States Postal Service, No. 19-5168 (D.C. Cir. June 9, 2020).
..
May 1, 2020— Kellogg Hansen attorneys qualified for recognition on the 2019 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for contributing fifty hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel. Nine Kellogg Hansen attorneys also qualified for the High Honor Roll for providing one hundred hours or more of pro bono service. The District of Columbia Courts have recognized attorneys through the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll since 2011. The complete list of 2022 honorees can be found here.
Kellogg Hansen 2019 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll
Scott K. Attaway
Christine A. Bonomo*
Kimberly A. Briggs*
Andrew J. Churella*
Katherine C. Cooper*
Daniel S. Guarnera*
Michael J. Guzman*
Julia Haines*
Minsuk Han*
T. Dietrich Hill*
Mark P. Hirschboeck*
Bethan R. Jones*
Michael K. Kellogg*
Geoffrey M. Klineberg*
Grace W. Knofczynski
Gabriel A. Kohan
Sean A. Lev
Benjamin D. Margo
Ariela Migdal*
Sean M. Nadel*
Bradley E. Oppenheimer*
Albert Y. Pak
Ana N. Paul*
Michael S. Qin
Gregory G. Rapawy
Melissa Rodriguez*
Thomas B. Samuels*
Thomas G. Schultz*
Benjamin S. Softness
James W. Webster*
Collin R. White
*denotes High Honor roll
..
May 30, 2019— Kellogg Hansen is pleased to announce that Geoffrey Klineberg has been elected president-elect of the D.C. Bar for the 2019-2020 term. Mr. Klineberg will assume office in June 2019 and serve in that post for one year before becoming D.C. Bar President in 2020; he will continue in office a third year as immediate past president.
“I am honored to have been elected as the next D.C. Bar President-Elect,” stated Mr. Klineberg. “I want to thank the D.C. Bar membership for its confidence and support, and I would particularly like to thank Charlie Lemley, who reminded all of us throughout the campaign of the importance of working to achieve a more inclusive and diverse Bar. I am grateful for this opportunity to serve this remarkable organization.”
The D.C. Bar is the largest unified bar in the United States, providing the oversight structure needed to maintain the profession’s ethical standards and Rules of Professional Conduct. Since its creation by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in 1972, the D.C. Bar has been committed to advancing its core missions of enhancing access to justice, improving the legal system, and empowering lawyers to better serve their clients.
Mr. Klineberg began as an associate at Kellogg Hansen in 1995 and has been a member of the Firm since 1998. He currently serves on the Firm\'s Executive Committee. He practices primarily in the areas of administrative law and appellate litigation. He also advises clients on the applicability of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct. Over the past 18 years, Mr. Klineberg has worked on various committees and task forces of the D.C. Bar and the courts. He currently serves on the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Task Force, focusing on how best to encourage and facilitate the participation of pro bono lawyers to serve clients of limited means in the courts of the District of Columbia. He is also currently working on the Appellate Working Group, focusing in particular on ways to provide pro bono representation before the D.C. Court of Appeals.
..
April 16, 2019— Thirty-two Kellogg Hansen attorneys qualified for recognition on the 2018 Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll for contributing fifty hours or more of pro bono work to those who cannot afford legal counsel. Twenty-five Kellogg Hansen attorneys also qualified for the High Honor Roll for providing one hundred hours or more of pro bono service. The District of Columbia Courts have recognized attorneys through the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll since 2011. The 2018 Honor Roll members represent all sectors of the legal community, including 168 law firms and individual practices, as well as federal and local government agencies, corporations, associations, law schools and public interest organizations.
Chief Judge Anna Blackburne-Rigsby of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals and Chief Judge Robert Morin of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia stated:
“We salute you for using your talents and expertise to help those unable to afford an attorney, to ensure that they too have equal access to justice. Your compassion and dedication, as evidenced by your pro bono service, have helped to level the playing field.”
Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, P.L.L.C.
Scott K. Attaway*Christine A. Bonomo*Katherine C. Cooper*Brendan J. CrimminsMatthew M. DuffyLinda A. Elliott*David C. Frederick*Andrew E. Goldsmith*Daniel S. Guarnera*Joshua HafenbrackFrederick G. Hall*Minsuk Han*Jacob E. HartmanAndrew M. Hetherington*T. Dietrich HillMark P. Hirschboeck*Geoffrey M. Klineberg*Benjamin D. Margo*Rachel P. May*Ariela Migdal*Jeremy S. NewmanBradley E. Oppenheimer*Albert Y. Pak*Michael S. Qin*Benjamin L. Rudofsky*Thomas B. Samuels*Christopher M. SarmaThomas G. Schultz*Daniel S. Severson*Lillian V. Smith*Benjamin S. Softness*Julius P. Taranto*
* denotes High Honor Roll
..