Eileen Brown has been named the managing partner of Thompson Coburn’s Washington, D.C., office effective January 1, 2020. Brown serves as a co-chair of Thompson Coburn’s national Transportation and Project Finance group and is a member of its Management Committee.

Brown is the third female managing partner of the D.C. office; she succeeds partner Margie Krumholz, who has led the office since 2008. Nearly 50% of the lawyers in Thompson Coburn’s D.C. office are women.

“Our firm thanks Margie for her splendid leadership over the last decade and welcomes Eileen as the new managing partner of our D.C. office,” said Thompson Coburn Chair Tom Minogue. “Eileen is a highly respected legal advisor, a dynamic leader and a strong advocate for any cause to which she dedicates herself – whether representing a client, supporting women attorneys, helping us make decisions at the management level or spurring growth in our D.C. office. She will be an exceptional leader for our attorneys and staff.”

“I’m honored to follow a fantastic leader like Margie, who has provided our office with such strong, effective leadership,” said Eileen. “I’ve spent nearly my entire professional career at Thompson Coburn and have truly appreciated that this is a place that supports attorneys, challenges them and provides a strong, stable platform to grow their practices.”

“As I look ahead for our office and our Firm as a whole, I really want to focus on building strong teams,” said Eileen. “I’d like to partner with our clients to come up with innovative ways to solve their problems and capitalize on their opportunities. I also think it’s important for us to anticipate and adapt to the changing business climate and the practice of law. If we’re clear about our goals and committed to moving in the same direction, we can continue to achieve outstanding results on behalf of our clients, our people and our communities.”

Brown represents government entities, financial institutions and publicly traded companies in international, asset-based and project finance transactions, government guaranteed finance and equipment leasing. She also represents local and regional transportation agencies, companies buying, selling and operating aircraft, and lenders and lessors to marine operating companies.

She has served as outside counsel to the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) for 14 years, and has helped facilitate financings for transportation, energy, agricultural, mining and development projects around the world.

Brown joined Thompson Coburn’s Management Committee in 2019. She has been an active member of the firm’s Total Commitment Women’s Initiative, led programming efforts in the D.C. region on behalf of the initiative and served as a mentor to female attorneys.

Before joining Thompson Coburn, Brown was an attorney with the U.S. Maritime Administration, focusing on the Title XI loan guarantee program. She also served as counsel for International Registries, Inc. (IRI) when the IRI served as the corporate and maritime administrator for the Republics of Liberia and the Marshall Islands.

Brown is a member of the Maritime Law Association and a longtime member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), which recently appointed her to the organization’s national Legal Committee.