"At Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles, we are constantly cultivating new ideas and developing solid strategies to give our clients a competitive edge in Washington."
- Andrew Lundquist, Principal
Known for leadership, expertise and vision while serving in both the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government, the members of Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles have over 60 years of combined government service in Washington, D.C.
The team has long-standing relationships with senior officials in the Bush administration, as well as with Republican and Democratic members of Congress and their staff.
Andrew D. Lundquist
Andrew Lundquist provides legislative, regulatory, management and strategic advice to companies worldwide. As director of the National Energy Policy Development Group (NEPDG), Mr. Lundquist spearheaded the cabinet-level task force led by Vice President Dick Cheney that produced President Bush’s National Energy Policy. Mr. Lundquist worked closely with the secretaries of Energy, the Interior, Commerce, the Treasury, Transportation, Agriculture and State, as well as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, to develop the president’s energy policy. Following its issuance, Mr. Lundquist served as senior advisor and strategist on energy issues for President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Before working at the White House, Mr. Lundquist spent 14 years on Capitol Hill, the last three of which were as majority staff director of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. For seven years he was a senior legislative assistant for Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Mr. Lundquist also serves on two corporate boards: he is a director for Pioneer Natural Resources Company, a Dallas, TX-based oil and gas company, and he is a director for Coeur d’Alene Mines Corporation, the world’s largest silver producer, and also a producer of gold.
Mr. Lundquist holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Alaska and a juris doctor from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law. He and his wife, Maryellen, have four children.
George R. Nethercutt, Jr.
George Nethercutt brings a wealth of public and private experience to Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles, having served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 2005. Nethercutt’s historic 1994 victory unseated then-Speaker of the House Tom Foley, the first defeat of a sitting Speaker since 1860. Nethercutt represented Washington’s 5th Congressional District until choosing to run for the U.S. Senate in 2004. While in the House, Nethercutt served on the prestigious House Committee on Appropriations and the House Science Committee. Prior to his election to Congress, Nethercutt was a practicing attorney in Washington state, specializing in estate planning, probate and adoption law. He previously served as staff counsel, and then chief of staff, to U.S. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska, working on such issues as agriculture, fisheries, timber and mining. Nethercutt co-founded the private, non-profit Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery for the prevention of child abuse. He has also served as president of the Spokane chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Washington Policy Center in Seattle, a nonpartisan free-market think tank.
Mr. Nethercutt earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Washington State University before graduating from Gonzaga University School of Law. He and his wife, Mary Beth, have two children.
J. Steven Griles
Steve Griles brings to Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles LLC, a wide range of expertise in business management and the fields of energy, the environment, and natural resources. Before joining the firm he was Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Interior from July 2001 to January 2005. Mr. Griles served the Secretary of Interior as the chief operating officer for a department that manages one-fifth of the United States and employees more than 70,000 employees. He was formerly a principal with National Environmental Strategies, Inc., providing advice to companies, trade groups and others on policy and regulatory issues at the federal and state levels. Mr. Griles previously was a senior vice president for the United Company, a diversified natural resources company. And he additionally served as assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary of the Interior for Lands and Minerals Management, and as executive assistant director at the Virginia Department of Conservation and Economic Development. Mr. Griles is a member of the Jepson School of Leadership Studies National Advisory Council at the University of Richmond.
Mr. Griles received a Bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in economics from the University of Richmond. He has four children and two grandchildren.
Kjersten Drager
Kjersten Drager manages the firm’s business affairs. She also handles client matters and coordinates the firm’s political affairs. Ms. Drager previously served as a special assistant to Mr. Lundquist and for the National Energy Policy Development Group in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office. Prior to working at the White House, Ms. Drager spent five years in the U.S. Senate, serving both Senator Frank Murkowski of Alaska and on the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Ms. Drager has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She and her husband, Phil, live in Washington, DC with their daughter.
Timothy J. Kurth
Tim Kurth manages the firm’s telecommunications, technology and financial services practice. Before joining the firm in August 2004, Mr. Kurth was a top policy advisor to Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). His portfolio included issues on telecommunications, intellectual property and technology, financial services, government reform and tax policy. Mr. Kurth served Speaker Hastert for nine years, first as his staffer on telecommunications, technology and financial services issues when Hastert served on the House Commerce Committee. He started his Capitol Hill career with former Representative and House Republican Leader Bob Michel in 1993. Mr. Kurth also worked for the U.S. State Department, where he assisted on programs for international visitors and worked with desk officers on writing press guidance for the State Department spokesman on breaking news. Mr. Kurth also worked for The Kamber Group, a Washington, D.C.-based public relations firm, on crisis communications, cause-related marketing and non-profit foundation management.
Mr. Kurth is from Mendota, Illinois, and graduated from Marquette University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration-economics and a second major in broadcast communications. Mr. Kurth and his wife, Christine, live in Washington, DC.
Rob Neal
Rob Neal manages the firm’s defense, trade and emerging technology practice. Prior to joining Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles in early 2005, he spent a decade serving as a senior policy advisor to Representative George Nethercutt, specializing in defense appropriations, government-wide appropriations strategy, science and aerospace policy, commerce, trade and international affairs issues. Mr. Neal supported Mr. Nethercutt on the House Appropriations and Science Committees.
Mr. Neal is from Spokane, Washington and graduated from Whitman College, with a bachelor’s degree in History and Politics. He earned a master’s degree in International Affairs with an emphasis on Security Policy from George Washington University. He also completed the Air Force Command and Staff College. He and his wife, Erin, live in Washington, DC.
Howard Useem
Howard Useem manages the firm’s energy practice. Prior to joining Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles in 2003, Mr. Useem served for 24 years as the senior professional staff member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. In that capacity, Mr. Useem participated in every major energy legislative initiative from 1979 to 2003. Before beginning his work on Capitol Hill, Mr. Useem served as the chief economist of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
He was an officer in the U.S. Army and holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Washington. Mr. Useem and his wife, Shelley, have two children
Jeremy Perkins
Jeremy Perkins coordinates and manages the firm’s special projects. Prior to joining Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles in 2004, Mr. Perkins worked on the staff of Congressman Max Sandlin (D-TX). Mr. Perkins is from Athens, Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Business.