Adonis Edward Hoffman, Esq.
Biography
Adonis Hoffman is a lawyer, business advisor and leadership strategist with high-level experience in public policy, corporate affairs, and international relations. He has been a trusted legal and communications advisor to corporate leaders, elected officials, trade associations and foreign governments, providing counsel on challenging policy issues facing business and government. Mr. Hoffman is seen as a bridge-builder and problem-solver who brings innovative solutions and a broad worldview to the new challenges of today’s global market, including mandates to develop strategic partnerships, to engage stakeholders, to improve shareholder value and to implement responsible business practices.
Currently, Mr. Hoffman is Senior Vice President and Counsel at the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA). He is one of the advertising industry’s lead attorneys and analysts, representing the industry trade association on Capitol Hill, at federal regulatory agencies and before federal courts.
Previously, Hoffman was a top advisor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Hoffman practiced corporate and international law with Hopkins & Sutter, and later was Managing Director of Capitol Exchange Corporation, an international consulting firm. He served as a Senior Associate and Director of International Law at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, as a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute, and as Distinguished Visitor in Global Public Policy at the New School University.
In the U.S. Congress, Hoffman was Counsel to the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, serving also as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Subcommittee on Africa. Earlier, he was Legislative Counsel to the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, and advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of the state of California. Before government, Mr. Hoffman began his career as a commercial banker at Bank of America in Los Angeles.
Mr. Hoffman is founder and chairman of the American Business Leadership Institute, a non-profit think-tank focusing on the role of business in society. He is the editor and publisher of Business Leadership Today. He serves on the Board of the Corporate Counsel Institute at Georgetown University Law Center, the First Amendment Advisory Council of The Media Institute, the Black Education Network, and the Huntington Free Library (Library of the American Indian). Hoffman’s articles have been published in Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune, Legal Times, Broadcasting & Cable, and he has appeared on NBC, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, Voice of America and Canadian Broadcasting to comment on national and international issues.
Hoffman received an A.B. from Princeton University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar, the Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Bar of the United States Court of International Trade and the Bar of the Supreme Court of the United States. He is active in the American Bar Association, the U.S. Council for International Business, the Breton Woods Committee and is a past member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Adonis Hoffman, his wife Karla Ellison Hoffman, Esq., and their two children reside in northern Virginia where he has coached youth lacrosse and supports community mentorship programs.
Experience
Senior Vice President & Counsel
American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. Washington, DC/New York, NY
2000 to Present
The American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA), founded in 1917, is the national trade and professional association representing the advertising agency industry. Its membership includes over 450 large multinational agencies, global media companies, Internet advertisers, and small to mid-sized advertising agencies that collectively are responsible for 75 percent of the advertising placed in the United States.
Mr. Hoffman is the chief legal officer for the association and represents the advertising industry before federal courts, on Capitol Hill and before Executive Branch agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He routinely provides legal, legislative and regulatory counsel to the association and its nearly 450 member companies. Hoffman is the association’s liaison with the broadcasting, newspaper, magazine and online media trade associations. He also is responsible for the coordination and oversight of outside law firms and the filing of amicus curiae briefs at the United States Supreme Court and the U.S. Courts of Appeal. Hoffman also provides industry analysis for the print and broadcast media on political, economic, policy and regulatory developments affecting the media, marketing and advertising industries.
Policy issues of concern to the advertising, marketing and communications industry include: maintaining commercial speech and First Amendment protections for advertisers, media and marketing companies; preserving the tax deductibility of advertising as an ordinary business expense; privacy, and eradicating international barriers to trade in media, marketing and advertising. His work requires significant interaction with Members of Congress and their staff, particularly members of the Senate Commerce Committee, Senate Finance Committee, House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee. Through the association, Hoffman supports the major political activities of both parties.
Deputy Chief, Cable Television Bureau
Senior Counsel for International Telecommunications Policy
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Washington, DC
1997-2000
Hoffman was appointed Senior Counsel for International Telecommunications Policy by FCC Chairman Bill Kennard. His primary role was to lead a new FCC initiative to assist developing countries with telecommunications regulatory reform. After successfully designing and launching the program, Hoffman was appointed Deputy Chief of the Cable Television Bureau, where he supervised a staff of 100 attorneys, engineers and economists, and helped to coordinate the FCC’s regulatory review of the AT&T-Media One merger and the mergers of several large cable, Internet and telecommunications companies. In 1999, the FCC Chairman appointed Mr. Hoffman to direct the newly-established Interagency Task Force on Advertising Practices. The Task Force consisted of representatives from the FCC, the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Small Business Administration, and the Office of the Vice President of the United States.
Managing Director
Capitol Exchange Corporation, Washington, DC
1997
Capitol Exchange Corporation is a consulting firm that provides strategic advice to companies in the United States, Asia, Africa and Europe, and public policy advice to ambassadors and diplomats of foreign nations in the United States. Mr. Hoffman helped transnational corporations to develop strategic partnerships with small and medium sized businesses in developing countries and to develop corporate policies on environmental, human rights, diversity and corporate citizenship issues. He also advised diplomats from developing countries on how to improve their communications, media relations, and government relations activities in Washington and the U.S. He organized several high-level delegations to serve as independent elections observers in developing countries.
Director of International Law Programs/Senior Associate
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Washington, DC
1993-1997
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is one of the nation’s leading foreign policy think tanks. During his tenure, Mr. Hoffman focused on the role of the United Nations in settling internal disputes and constitutional reform in developing nations. He also studied U.S. policy toward the Middle East and Africa. While at the Carnegie Endowment, Mr. Hoffman chaired and convened over 30 seminars, conferences and symposia on foreign policy issues. Mr. Hoffman’s commentaries were widely published, and he appeared regularly on network television news programs as an expert analyst.
Distinguished Visitor and Senior Fellow
The New School University—World Policy Institute, New York, NY
1996-1997
Mr. Hoffman was selected as one of the first Distinguished Visitors at the New School University. He lectured in public policy and international relations. Later, he was selected to participate as a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute, a think tank associated with the New School.
Counsel
Committee on Foreign Affairs/ U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC
1991-1993
Mr. Hoffman served concurrently as Counsel to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Africa. He provided legal and policy advice to Members of Congress on the committee, and he coordinated 30 public hearings on U.S. foreign policy issues. Mr. Hoffman represented the Congress at international organizations, and traveled to 58 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East as part of committee and congressional delegations.
Attorney
Hopkins & Sutter, Washington, DC
1986-1991
Hopkins & Sutter was a law firm headquartered in Chicago with offices in Washington, DC and Dallas, TX. As a member of the firm’s Legislative/Regulatory Practice Group in Washington, Hoffman provided legal, strategic and business counsel to Fortune corporations, governments, associations and embassies, and represented those clients on Capitol Hill and before federal agencies. Their interests included tax, banking, transportation, telecommunications and environmental issues in Congress.
Communications Counselor
Gray & Company Public Communications International, Washington, DC
1984-1986
Gray & Company (acquired by Hill & Knowlton) was an international public relations, communications, and government relations firm in Washington that provided strategic communications and public policy guidance to corporations and foreign governments. Mr. Hoffman advised the governments of Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia and Turkey on trade, defense, commercial and communications issues, in addition to representing those clients on Capitol Hill.
Legislative Director
U.S. Representative Mervyn Dymally (D-CA)
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC
1980-1984
Hoffman served as Legislative Director to Congressman Dymally who served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Science & Technology. When Dymally was elected Chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, Hoffman served as his legislative counsel.
Legislative Assistant
Office of the Lieutenant Governor
State of California, Sacramento/Los Angeles, CA
1976-1980
Hoffman was an advisor to the Lieutenant Governor on economic and community development issues affecting the state of California
Education
Princeton University, A.B., Politics, 1976
Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1986
Publications / Commentary and Honors
Hoffman has published over 25 articles in Foreign Policy, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Christian Science Monitor, The Chicago Tribune, Legal Times, Broadcasting & Cable their syndicates and other periodicals. He has appeared in over 100 televised interviews on national and international issues on CNN, NBC, FOX, MSNBC, Voice of America, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and he has been listed in Who’s Who in American Law. He is the editor of Ad-Vantage, a blog on advertising, law and society: www.ad-vantage.blogspot.com.
Membership
Bar of the United States Supreme Court
Bar of the District of Columbia
Bar of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Bar of the United States Court of International Trade
American Bar Association
U.S. Council for International Business
Council on Foreign Relations
Boards
American Business Leadership Institute, Washington, DC
The Media Institute, (First Amendment Advisory Board) Washington, DC
Corporate Counsel Institute, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC
Huntington Free Library (Museum of the American Indian), New York, NY
Founder
The American Business Leadership Institute is an independent, non-profit research and education organization whose mission is to promote the positive role of business in society and to highlight the contribution of business to human development.