Former White House Senior Advisor Trey Baker Joins Taft

Taft, one of the fastest-growing law firms in the country, announced that Trey Baker, former White House senior advisor for public engagement in the Biden administration, is joining the firm as senior counsel in its Washington, D.C. office and the firm's Government Resource and Response Group.

At the White House, Baker worked with stakeholders across a broad range of portfolios, including civil rights organizations, law enforcement, and professional and collegiate sports leagues on policy, engagement, and coalition-building. Before his White House appointment, he served as national director of African American engagement for the Biden for President campaign, building and managing a national network that helped drive historic voter turnout in key battleground states.

Baker joins Taft's Government Resource and Response Group, which combines the firm's legal, government affairs, and strategic communications experience for clients, including major cities and utilities, grappling with economic challenges, aging infrastructure, and rising costs. The group is led by Marcia Fudge, former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and chair of public policy at Taft, and Washington, D.C. partner, Lacy M. Johnson.

The latest lawyer to join this group, Baker follows the arrival late last year of Marc Battle, former Chief Legal Officer and Executive Vice President of Government Affairs at DC Water, and Beverly Perry, who served as the Senior Advisor to Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser for the previous 10 years.

"Trey's record of building high-impact coalitions and driving measurable engagement at the highest levels of government uniquely positions him to elevate our client work at a time when public policy challenges are intensifying nationwide. His voice and strategic instincts will deepen our ability to anticipate policy shifts and advocate for meaningful outcomes," said Fudge.

"Trey understands how government actually works and how decisions get made when the stakes are high. He brings practical judgment, credibility, and experience across government that clients value when navigating complex public policy and government affairs matters," explained Johnson.

Earlier in his career, Baker served as city manager for Grenada, Mississippi. As chief executive under the council-manager form of government, he led initiatives including passage of a state and local referendum establishing a tourism tax to finance a multimillion-dollar sports complex and secured millions in grant funding from FEMA, the Justice Department, the Delta Regional Authority and the Agriculture Department's Rural Development office.

Baker began his legal career at a regional litigation firm in Denver, focusing on complex commercial litigation and defense. He also served as legislative counsel to U.S. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson. Most recently, he was a senior advisor to the 2024 Harris-Walz campaign and a partner at a Washington law firm, advising clients on relationships with community organizations and government entities.

"Taft has a growing platform with deep capabilities that can help solve the complex challenges clients face in government affairs and public policy," said Baker. "My work has always been about bringing people together to solve hard problems. Taft's Government Resource and Response Group's work with cities, utilities, and organizations to build coalitions and drive large scale results. That's why I joined."

In 2025, Taft became the only Am Law 100 firm to successfully close three mergers in a single calendar year: Morris, Manning & Martin (Atlanta and Washington, D.C.); Mrachek Law (Florida); and Sherman & Howard (Mountain West). Today, Taft has more than 1,250 attorneys in 25 offices nationwide and projected revenues exceeding $1 billion.

Baker earned his J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and a bachelor's degree in political science from Tougaloo College.