Peter B. Davidson, General Counsel to the United States Department of Commerce, to Join George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School

Davidson to Serve as Deputy Dean for Strategic Initiatives

Fairfax, VA— George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School has hired Peter B. Davidson, General Counsel to the United States Department of Commerce, as its first Deputy Dean for Strategic Initiatives. Davidson, who begins his new position on August 12, will promote Scalia Law School as a leading catalyst for multidisciplinary legal and public policy analysis, providing programmatic coordination, development support, and strategic planning for the law school’s research and outreach centers.

Davidson has served as General Counsel to the Department of Commerce since 2017. As the third most senior official at the Department, he has supervised nearly 400 attorneys in thirteen bureaus. Beyond his legal work, he has played a leadership role in the areas of trade and technology, including pending trade agreements, privacy, anti-corruption, and national security matters. Before joining Commerce, Davidson served as Senior Vice President, Federal and International Relations, for Verizon Communications.

“We are thrilled to have Peter Davidson join the Scalia Law team!” said Dean Henry N. Butler. “With his significant and impressive track record in both government and the private sector, I am confident Peter will shepherd Scalia Law’s strategic initiatives to the next level. With Peter leading, we will be able expand the important research and programming of the law school’s centers and institutes, increasing multidisciplinary analysis and solutions to global problems.”

For his part, Davidson reports he is “excited to be joining the Scalia Law School to help advance the important work being done by its world class faculty. The centers and institutes are already breaking new ground, and I look forward to helping find synergies to bring the legal work, funding, and the student experience to a new level. Hopefully my experiences in government and the private sector will add a new perspective to the work being done at the law school. In particular, I’m passionate about promoting the international rule of law, and I can’t wait to get started.”