Brackett Denniston is senior counsel at Goodwin, Procter in Boston. He also serves as the Chair of the Institute for Law Reform of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and as a member of the executive committee and board of the Chamber and a distinguished Fellow of the Chamber. Mr. Denniston also is the Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kenyon College, a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of Harvard Law School and a on the boards of Equal Justice Works, a leader in providing legal services to the under- represented, and of the Coalition for Integrity, an organization devoted to anti-corruption efforts. 

Mr. Denniston was, until his retirement in 2016, the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the General Electric Company. In that position, he was responsible for leading a global organization of 5,000 that embraced legal, government affairs, compliance and environment, health, and safety. During his tenure, GE was named the best legal department by Corporate Counsel magazine, and Mr. Denniston was named among the most influential General Counsels by the National Law Journal. He received numerous awards for his leadership, including on pro bono, anti-corruption and legal issues. 

Mr. Denniston initially joined GE as head of litigation, where he headed litigation, investigations and compliance for the company. 

Before joining GE, he was the Chief Legal Counsel to Governor William F. Weld from 1993 to 1996. He earlier served as the Chief of Major Frauds of the United States Attorney’s Office in Boston. He was a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee on White Collar Crime and was awarded the Department of Justice’s Director’s Award for Superior Performance for his role in leading the successful prosecution of over 100 cases. 

Mr. Denniston began his time at Goodwin, Procter, where he was a member of the Executive Committee of the firm and served on a number of other firm committees. He specialized in complex litigation and investigations. After his graduation, he served as a law clerk to Judge Herbert Choy of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 

Mr. Denniston is a summa cum laude graduate of Kenyon College and a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, where he was also an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He is married to Kathleen Denniston, and they are the parents of three children.