[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 68 (Friday, May 26, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E986]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO WILLIAM ``BILL'' ALLEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. VERNON J. EHLERS

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 25, 2006

  Mr. EHLERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to William 
``Bill'' Allen. Bill is leaving the House of Representatives after 
nearly 4 years of distinguished service to this institution as an 
attorney with the Office of House Employment Counsel. As an Associate 
Counsel in the Office of House Employment Counsel, Bill has provided 
legal advice and counsel on employment issues to at least 124 current 
Members of Congress, 18 House Committees, the House Officers, and the 
United States Capitol Police Board. Bill's clients can attest to his 
tremendous intelligence, legal prowess, creativity, and wit. In 
addition to his many other contributions, in November 2005, Bill 
presented oral arguments on the scope of the Speech or Debate Clause 
before a rare en banc panel of the United States Court of Appeals for 
the District of Columbia Circuit.
  A Connecticut native and son of Frederick E. Allen and the late 
Evelyn M. Allen, Bill was raised in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Following 
his junior year of high school, Bill spent a week as part of a 
fellowship program sponsored by the Connecticut Congressional 
delegation. As a true New Englander, Bill grew to be a diehard Boston 
Red Sox fan and his faith was finally rewarded in October 2004 when the 
Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years.
  A rare ``Triple Hoo'', Bill earned his Bachelor of Science, Masters 
in Business Administration, and Juris Doctor from the University of 
Virginia. While at the University of Virginia, Bill represented the 
Engineering School, the Darden School, and the Law School on the 
University's renowned student-run Honor Committee. Bill also served as 
an officer in the Raven Society and the Virginia Alpha Chapter of Tau 
Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society.
  Bill is returning to private practice as a Senior Counsel at the law 
firm of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P, where he worked from 
1996 to 2002 on various class actions involving Title VII and the Fair 
Labor Standards Act. In private practice, Bill intends to resume his 
pro bono activity in the field of immigration law. While at the firm, 
Bill averaged over 100 hours of pro bono work per year and, in 2001, 
was named Akin Gump's Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year for the firm's D.C. 
office. Bill's pro bono representations included obtaining political 
asylum for a Sudanese national who had been repeatedly kidnapped and 
tortured by the Sudanese government and obtaining United States 
citizenship for an Ethiopian national.
  The U.S. House of Representatives would like to express its deepest 
gratitude to Bill Allen for his invaluable service to this institution. 
Bill has worked tirelessly to provide House Employing offices with 
excellent legal advice and support. We wish Bill tremendous success in 
all of his future endeavors.

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