Earl Adams, Jr.

As a versatile leader, Earl seamlessly combines his roles as a public servant, litigator, and legal counsel to assist clients in navigating regulatory and policy challenges in the transportation sector. His comprehensive background includes overseeing legal strategies, policy development, and rulemaking, with particular experience in developing rules for the safe deployment of driver-assisted (ADAS) and autonomous driving (ADS) systems in large trucks and passenger vehicles.

During his FMCSA tenure as Chief Counsel, Earl managed the entire suite of legal issues for the Agency, addressing litigation, enforcement, general law (e.g., employment and contract law), and rulemaking. Prior to working at FMCSA, he was a litigation partner at a national law firm, where he served as the Managing Partner of the firm’s Washington, DC office.

In addition to his federal government experience, Earl has also served as a senior state official, where he managed an office overseeing a range of policy and budget issues, as a member of the governor’s Executive Cabinet.

With almost two decades on a range of not-for-profit boards, Earl served as a member of the Board of Directors to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), including Chairman of the Board from 2019 to 2021, a governor-appointed position, and is currently a member of the Seed Foundation board of directors and a co-founder of Innovation for Equity, Inc., an organization focused on educational equity.