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Biography

Uttam is a public policy leader committed to shaping, regulating, and enforcing the wellbeing of the American public through a drug and pharmaceutical regulatory lens. With over 30 years of legal experience including over 20 years in impactful roles within the federal government, Uttam has centered his career on legislative and regulatory oversight, government investigations, and white-collar defense. Among many other high-profile positions, he served as Deputy White House Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President, Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Director of INTERPOL in Washington, D.C. He has been featured as a subject matter expert in many publications such as the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. Prior to his government-centered career in Washington D.C., Uttam worked as a commercial litigator on the West Coast, sharpening his skills while working for several national law firms.

Uttam's Relevant Experience

Positions Held

Uttam’s extensive federal government and legal experience includes the following:

United States Department of Justice

  • 2020 – 2021: Director of INTERPOL Washington serving as the official U.S. representative to the world’s largest police organization.
  • 2018 – 2020: Acting Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration.
  • 2003 – 2006: Associate Deputy Attorney General.
  • 1990 – 1997: Assistant United States Attorney, Central District of California.

The White House

  • 2017-2018 – Deputy White House Counsel and Deputy Assistant to the President.

United States Department of Homeland Security

  • 2006 – 2009: Nominated by the President and unanimously confirmed by the Senate to serve as the first Director of the Office of Counternarcotics Enforcement.

United States House of Representatives

  • 2013 – 2017: Chief Oversight Counsel, United States House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
  • 2003: Chief Counsel and Deputy Staff Director, United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Homeland Security.
  • 1997 – 1998: Senior Investigative Counsel, United States House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform and Oversight

Other Info About Uttam

Education

Law School

University of California, Berkley School of Law, J.D., 1987

Graduate School

University of California, San Diego, M.A., Psychology, 1984

Undergraduate School

California State University, Sacramento, B.A., Psychology, 1982

Bar Memberships

Uttam is licensed to practice in the following state(s):

California

Washington, D.C.

Texas

Courts

Uttam is admitted to practice before the following court(s):

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit

Central District of California

Southern District of California

Eastern District of California

Northern District of California

District of Columbia

Northern District of Texas

Southern District of Texas

Western District of Texas

Professional Affiliations

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

Opioid Clinical Management, Inc., Board of Directors, Member

DisposeRx, Inc., Board of Advisors, Member

RxGuardian Inc., Board of Advisors, Member

International Association of Chiefs of Police, Board of Directors, Federal Liaison, 2018-2020

The Federalist Society, Member

Presentations

Uttam was invited to speak at the following events:

Guest, “We need to secure our borders,” Fox News, March 2023

Presenter, “The Mental Health & Addiction/Overdose Crisis: The Top Things to Know to Protect Students & Universities,” December 2022

Speaker, “AG Moody Enlists the Help of Former DEA Administrator, Former White House Drug Czar and Florida Law Enforcement Leaders to Prevent Mass Casualties from Fentanyl,” Office of Attorney General of the State of Florida, September 2022

Guest, “US-Mexico relationship shaky over question of how to handle cartels,” Fox News, September 2022

Presenter, “Controlled Substances – Regulation, Litigation, and Enforcement,” American Conference Institute, July 2022

Guest, “Ending Title 42 could take drug problem ‘from bad to worse’,” NewsNation, April 2022

Keynote Speaker, “Criminal Justice Reform – Penn Law Federalist Society Symposium,” April 2022

Presenter, “The Fentanyl Crisis: The Mexico-Texas Connection,” The Heritage Foundation, March 2022

Major Publications

Uttam is an author or contributor to the following publications:

Mentioned in, “DEA Investigated for Hiring Agents Who Failed Lie Detector Tests, Report Says,” Los Angeles Times, August 2023

Co-author, “Three Ways the 118th Congress Can Confront the Overdose Crisis,” The Hill, December 2022

Mentioned in, “China shuts down counter-drug talks with U.S., fueling fears of more overdose death,” The Washington Times, August 2022

Mentioned in, “How Two Mexican Drug Cartels Came to Dominate America’s Fentanyl Supply,” The Wall Street Journal, August 2022

Co-author, “Congress Must Act to Permanently Control Fentanyl-Related Substances,” Newsweek, February 2022

Co-author, “Fentanyl: Killing More Americans than COVID-19,” The Washington Times, February 2022

Author, “If It’s Fentanyl, One Pill Can Kill, So This New Year’s Eve Talk To Your Family About Drugs,” Tampa Bay Times, December 2021

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