Stephen Vaden

Judge

United States Court of International Trade

Stephen Vaden

Judge

United States Court of International Trade

Stephen Vaden serves as a judge on the United States Court of International Trade following his confirmation by the United States Senate on November 18, 2020, and appointment by President Donald J. Trump on December 21, 2020.

Before joining the court, Judge Vaden served as General Counsel of the United States Department of Agriculture.  Judge Vaden supervised more than 250 legal professionals in thirteen offices across the United States who handled all legal matters on behalf of a Department with more than 100,000 employees and an annual budget approaching $150 billion.  During his nearly four-year tenure as head of the Office of General Counsel, the Department won two cases before the United States Supreme Court, relocated and reorganized the agencies that comprise the Department to better serve rural America, engaged in substantial regulatory reform, developed new regulations to allow for the legal sale of hemp and the labeling of bioengineered products, and implemented the 2018 Farm Bill.  The Department averaged more than 5,000 matters in litigation before federal legal and administrative tribunals at any one time.

Judge Vaden also served as a Member of the Board of the Commodity Credit Corporation, a government corporation devoted to helping American agricultural producers.  During his tenure from 2017-2020, the Board developed programs to assist American producers affected by foreign trade barriers.

In the private sector, Judge Vaden worked for two law firms – Jones Day and Patton Boggs.  At both, Judge Vaden served as an appellate litigator and as part of the firms’ political law practices.  In this role, he counseled political candidates, donors, and other involved in the political process on compliance with the litany of federal and state laws that govern seeking and holding elective office.

A native of Union City, Tennessee, Judge Vaden grew up helping with his family’s farms and real estate ventures.

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Contributions

Deep Dive Episode 263 – Food Safety: When Regulatory Jurisdictional Battles and Public Safety Collide

May 1, 2023

Food is a necessity for life. It should therefore surprise few that the federal government regulates the production and processing of food before it reaches our dinner tables.

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Food Safety: When Regulatory Jurisdictional Battles and Public Safety Collide

April 27, 2023

Food is a necessity for life. It should therefore surprise few that the federal government regulates the production and processing of food before it reaches our dinner tables.

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Deep Dive Episode 246 – Creatures of Statute: Administrative Agencies in Practice

December 22, 2022

In this episode, regulatory experts share first-hand the function of administrative agencies, and their role in the federal government.

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Creatures of Statute: Administrative Agencies in Practice

September 28, 2022

In this luncheon discussion, regulatory experts share first-hand the function of administrative agencies, and their role in the federal government.

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Deep Dive Episode 62 – An Update on Kisor v. Wilkie

July 3, 2019

In this episode, Karen Harned and Stephen Vaden discuss the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kisor v. Wilkie, a case with important implications for judicial deference to agency interpretation of rules.

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Deep Dive Episode 55 – Regulatory Reform Report Card: Agency General Counsel Perspective

May 28, 2019

In this episode, General Counsels from a number of federal agencies take stock of the current administration’s regulatory reform agenda two years on.

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Deep Dive Episode 40 – Kisor v. Wilkie

April 1, 2019

In this Fourth Branch podcast, Stephen Vaden moderates a discussion between Karen Harned and Andrew Varcoe on Kisor v. Wilkie, a case which has broad and significant implications for issues surrounding judicial deference to agency interpretation of regulations.

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