Steven A. Merksamer

Steven A. Merksamer is Of Counsel in the Northern California law firm of Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP, where he served as a senior partner for over 33 years, led the firm’s government law practice, and served on the firm’s management committee. He was elected to PPIC’s board of directors in 2009 and was board chair from 2018 to 2022. He served as the chief of staff to Governor George Deukmejian, a position he held from 1982 to 1987. Before that, he was the special assistant attorney general of the State of California, serving as the attorney general’s senior counselor and policy advisor. He has also served as a California deputy attorney general, assistant to the lieutenant governor of California, and assistant to the Speaker of the California State Assembly. He chaired and directed the transition between the Brown and Deukmejian administrations. He was appointed by President Reagan to serve on the President’s Administration of Justice Task Force, the President’s Export Council, and the National Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is an honors graduate of Claremont McKenna College, and received his law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He is currently a member of the board of directors of the California Chamber of Commerce and the Stevenson School and is a past chairman of State Law Resources, Inc., an international network of independent law firms.