Mary Ellen Fraser

Mary Ellen Fraser is a member of the Government Contracts practice. She also works closely with the Government Affairs and International practices. Mary Ellen holds a classified clearance. Mary Ellen assists government contractors of all sizes understand and comply with domestic source restrictions, such as the Buy American Act, Trade Agreements Act, Berry Amendment and Specialty Metals clause. Her strength is her knowledge and understanding of procurement policy, and how Capitol Hill and the executive branch develop and implement necessary or perceived changes. She ensures that clients are up to date on all procurement policy matters in the legislative branch and assists those clients who wish to impact the legislative process. Mary Ellen also has demonstrable skill in preparing witnesses for both House and Senate Congressional hearings. Prior to joining the firm, Mary Ellen acted as counsel to the House Committee on Armed Services, US House of Representatives. As counsel, Mary Ellen had oversight on matters related to procurement policy and management, environmental policy, and civilian policy within the Department of Defense. She was the senior staff person for the readiness subcommittee where she had oversight over $130 billion of operations and maintenance funds for DoD, along with all policy matters related to training and equipping military troops. She traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan frequently. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Mary Ellen worked as an attorney within the Office of General Counsel for the Department of Navy. From 1991 to 1996 she worked as a procurement attorney for the Office of Naval Research where she worked on qui tam lawsuits. From 1996 to 1999 she worked for the Secretary of Navy in Office of Legislative Affairs. While working for the Navy, Mary Ellen received the Meritorious Civilian Service Award and the Superior Civilian Service Award. Mary Ellen graduated from the Columbus School of Law at Catholic University in 1991, where she was a member of the National Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy. She received a B.S. in Biology from Boston College in 1987.