Phillip Fraas has focused his practice on agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) matters. Over his 28 years of practice in this area, he has represented food and agriculture businesses, farmers and ranchers, agriculture trade associations, farm credit institutions, and the biomass-based renewable energy industry.

In addition to representing his clients in federal court and administrative law tribunals (including USDA’s National Appeals Division), his scope of practice included analysis of regulations, drafting of legislation, and lobbying before Congress and the Executive Branch agencies.

Representative Experience

• USDA administrative law cases: Successfully counseled clients in dozens of National Appeals Division and other cases. Represented sugar beet processors in their winning effort to preserve sugar marketing allocations worth hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. Won discrimination claims against USDA on behalf of 500 Hispanic farmers.
• Federal litigation: Served as co-lead counsel for African-American farmers suing USDA in the 1999 landmark civil rights case, Pigford v. Glickman. USDA agreed to a process whereby the farmers received over $1 billion in damages. Also served as class counsel in related cases on behalf of Native American and other Black farmers, which combined awarded the farmers over $2 billion in damages.
• Biomass-based energy: Assisted a farmer cooperative producing biomass-based fuel obtain USDA and federal Department of Energy grants needed to support its start-up operations.
• Legislation and regulations: Drafted legislative proposals and analyzed USDA regulations for a wide range of agricultural clients.
• Lobbying:
  • Represented a Farm Credit System bank before Congress in a successful effort to prevent its take-over by a larger bank. This work involved extensive legislative drafting and analysis.
  • Drafted, and testified before Congress on, a key provision included in the 2008 farm bill that made $100 million available to African-American farmers not covered by the Pigford settlement.
  • Organized and managed The DEIP Coalition, an export trade lobbying group that included all the major dairy exporting and milk powder manufacturing companies in the United States.

Law Formulation

For 13 years, Phil served in various legal roles on the Agriculture Committees of the Senate and then the House of Representatives, culminating in his service as chief counsel for the House Committee from 1985 to 1988. For both committees, he worked extensively on the formulation of statutes that govern USDA programs, and, as chief counsel of the House committee, was responsible for supervising the committee’s legal staff and providing policy analysis and advice to the committee’s chairman. He played a key staff role in the drafting of the Food Security Act of 1985 (the 1985 farm bill) and the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987.

Admissions to Practice Law

• District of Columbia, 1974
• Missouri, 1970