Political Law

Premier nonpartisan political law group with particular strength in corporate representation on gift and entertainment laws, campaign finance and lobbying disclosure rules. Also remains at the forefront of advising on federal and state pay-to-play rules … Highly adept at providing political law compliance counsel in the context of M&A and media broadcasts. Sources say, "The Skadden political law group as a whole has impressive, unmatched expertise in this field." — Chambers USA 2022

Skadden provides a wide range of political law advice, with particular emphasis on campaign finance, pay-to-play, ethics, lobbying and conflicts of interest in connection with federal, state and local laws. Our work in these areas includes representing political committees and businesses involved in the political process, corporate and trade association political action committees, and private individuals and entities.

Our political law attorneys have extensive knowledge of the state and federal pay-to-play, ethics and lobbying laws that specifically relate to contracting with a governmental entity. Our attorneys have a broad range of experience advising major banks, investment banking firms, manufacturers, insurance companies and energy companies, among others, on these rules. Such rules include Rules G-37/G-38 and Rule 206(4)-5, which are administered by the SEC/FINRA and the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. We also advise on Rule 23.451, which is administered by the CFTC. We advise clients on the SEC’s municipal advisor rule and its registration requirements as well as the MSRB’s rules for municipal advisors. In addition, we have extensive knowledge of state laws that regulate political activity of contractors or require them to register as lobbyists. We regularly advise on compliance with placement agent bans as well as contingency fee bans.

Skadden’s Political Law Group utilizes its experience working with the firm’s large and varied client base to develop and foster best practices that apply the latest trends in legal services no matter the industry. Skadden is often the first to work in new cutting-edge areas of political law, including by using cryptocurrency in campaign finance and responding to the recent focus on ESG. Our attorneys are frequent speakers on the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA), as well as the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act (the STOCK Act). We represent clients in matters concerning U.S. and non-U.S. lobby registration that arise under the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act and the Foreign Agents Registration Act. We often prepare federal, state and local campaign finance (i.e., PAC) and lobbying registrations and reports for our clients. We also advise on matters relating to corporate tax issues as they relate to political activities, taxation and trade association political activities.