Regulatory advocacy and compliance.
From the Federal Trade Commission to the Food and Drug Administration, from the Federal Election Commission to the Federal Communications Commission, and from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Department of Defense, we represent clients in opposition to, or in support of, key regulatory initiatives—advocating for or against policies, regulations and legislation in the interests of nonprofit clients and the public. We understand well the regulatory and policy components of federal agencies, as well as the relationship between the agencies and Congress.
Our approach includes counseling on regulatory compliance, petitioning and negotiating with agency officials, preparing formal comments, pursuing legislative remedies and, where necessary, litigating aggressively both in support of and in opposition to policies, regulations and legislation pursued by regulatory agencies. In this regard, our victories in the federal and state regulatory arenas are both numerous and impressive.
We have provided regulatory advocacy to organizations ranging from the Direct Marketing Association to The Sugar Association to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
Our regulatory practice comprises veterans from the upper ranks of federal agencies, including:
- a former undersecretary of Homeland Security and former Drug Enforcement Agency administrator;
- a former Securities and Exchange Commission assistant director for enforcement;
- former Federal Trade Commission officials;
- a former Food and Drug Administration official;
- a former Office of Management and Budget counsel;
- officials with several financial regulators including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve;
- U.S. Department of Justice veterans in the antitrust, environmental crimes and natural resources divisions, and in the Office of Justice Programs and Office of Civil Rights; and
- numerous U.S. Department of Defense government contract attorneys.
And while high-profile regulatory advocacy may garner the headlines, counseling clients on nut-and-bolts regulatory compliance issues—such as postal regulations and the rules governing raffles and lotteries—is a staple of our nonprofit practice.