Former Senior Counsel, Office of the General Counsel
Mr. Pfaeffle was the U.S. Department of Energy's Senior Counsel, Office of General Counsel. Mr. Pfaeffle is a senior environmental and civil rights attorney. Previously, he was in private practice where he conducted environmental litigation and assisted federal agencies with Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility.
From 2010-2017, he served the Obama Administration as Principal Deputy General Counsel and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at USDA. His work included representing USDA in relation to the Deepwater-Horizon BP Oil Spill and in multi-billion-dollar settlements to resolve civil rights litigation. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Mr. Pfaeffle served as Principal Deputy County Counsel with the County of Los Angeles, where he managed environmental matters, water rights litigation, and solid-waste regulation.
Mr. Pfaeffle received his JD from the University of Southern California and his business degree from Florida International University. He was born and raised in Latin America and is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.