Legal Counsel

Alan R. Merkle • Co-General Counsel

Alan Merkle currently serves as Chair of Stoel Rives lawfirm and practices primarily in the areas of infrastructure, energy, construction and design, and government contracts. He represents public and private owners, developers, engineers, architects, contractors, manufacturers and suppliers in a wide array of business matters. He is experienced in the drafting, negotiation and administration of contracts. He also handles bid protests, claims, litigation, arbitration, mediation and other alternative dispute resolution matters for a broad range of clients. In addition to serving as an advocate, he regularly serves as a neutral on Dispute Review Boards and as a mediator and arbitrator. He has been lead counsel for numerous complex projects involving multiple public agencies and jurisdictions. A significant portion of Alan’s practice is acting as a “trusted advisor” to senior management of the companies he represents. 

Prior to practicing law, Alan spent 12 years with General Electric Company where he managed the technical and business sides of major projects and business units. Alan is also a former mayor of Mercer Island, Washington. He is also a registered professional engineer.  Alan Merkle earned a J.D. from the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, a M.B.A. from the University of Idaho, a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Idaho, and an A.S. in Civil Engineering from Boise State University.

Honorable Steven S. Honigman • Co-General Counsel

Mr. Honigman’s legal career has included the private practice of law with leading commercial law firms, corporate directorships and extensive public service.  Mr. Honigman earned a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from New York University.

As a Presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate, Mr. Honigman served as the General Counsel of the Navy from June 1993 to April 1998. Ranking as the third-highest civilian in the Department of the Navy, he was the Department’s Chief Legal Officer and the principal legal advisor to the Secretary of the Navy. He also led the 650-lawyer world-wide Office of the General Counsel, whose civilian attorneys are responsible for acquisition matters, environmental law, litigation, civilian employment law, intellectual property law and standards of conduct. As General Counsel, Mr. Honigman exercised Secretariat oversight of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and served as the Department’s Contractor Suspension and Debarment Official and Designated Agency Ethics Officer. 

Since completing his service as General Counsel of the Navy in 1998, Mr. Honigman has provided expertise on a wide range of matters including government contracts, claims and investigations; suspension and debarment proceedings; executive and legislative branch strategies and advocacy; federal responsible contractor, CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) and national industrial security requirements; foreign military sales and offset programs; nuclear energy facilities; commercial, securities and class action litigation; alternative dispute resolution; and public policy.

Mr. Honigman served as a member of the Board of Directors of DRS Technologies, Inc., a publically traded, multi-billion-dollar provider of defense electronic systems and services to government and commercial customers world-wide, until the company’s acquisition by Finmeccanica SpA in a $3 billion transaction.  During his decade of service, Mr. Honigman was chair of the company’s Business Ethics Committee and a member of the Executive Compensation Committee.  He also served as a member of the board of directors of The Wornick Company, an employee-owned manufacturer of ready to eat military rations.