Legislative Advocacy for Nonprofits

Legislative advocacy.

Venable has a nationally recognized legislative practice - the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call referred to Venable as a “powerful lobbying firm.”  We help nonprofit clients negotiate the legislative and regulatory environment of our nation’s capital.

We have more than 20 attorneys and legislative advisors in our legislative practice, including:

  • a former Attorney General of the United States;
  • former U.S. Senator who served for 18 years;
  • former U.S. Secretary of Transportation;
  • two attorneys named as “Washington’s Lobbying Leaders” by Influence magazine;
  • one of the most well-connected veteran lobbyists in Washington, consistently included in rankings of DC’s top lobbyists;
  • a former policy director and counsel in the Senate Republican Whip’s office;
  • two former tax counsels for the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Committee on Taxation;
  • a former counsel and policy coordinator for the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet;
  • a chief counsel for the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations;
  • an in-house general counsel for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions;
  • former staff to Vice President Biden; and
  • former appropriations staff member.

Our legislative attorneys work closely with our core team of nonprofit attorneys, as well as with commercial, appellate and regulatory litigators, as part of an orchestrated, multi-faceted approach to problem-solving that delivers effective and efficient results.  We assist clients in developing, drafting and guiding legislation; drafting committee report language; preparing witnesses for congressional hearings; and testifying before Congressional committees on behalf of clients.  We recently represented the American Association of Retired Persons and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity in connection with high-profile Congressional investigations. Finally, we often help to coordinate legislative and public relations strategy for our clients.

Clients for whom we have recently provided legislative advocacy include the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Air Transport Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the National eHealth Collaborative, Money Management International, the Financial Education and Counseling Alliance, and many others.