Legislative & Regulatory Advocacy

The most cost-effective moment to change a rule is before it is final. The second most cost-effective moment is during the comment period. After that, you are litigating.

Rulemaking is where most regulatory outcomes are actually decided, and it is where most affected parties show up too late or too generally. A comment letter that says a proposal is burdensome accomplishes nothing. A comment letter that identifies a specific factual assumption the agency got wrong, supplies contrary data, and explains why the agency's chosen alternative fails its own stated objective creates an obligation for the agency to respond — and creates the record that supports a later challenge under the Administrative Procedure Act.

We approach advocacy and litigation as one continuous exercise. From the first comment, we are building toward the argument we would make in a court of appeals: that the agency failed to consider an important aspect of the problem, ignored significant comments, departed from prior policy without explanation, or exceeded its statutory authority. Clients who engage us early frequently never need that argument. Clients who engage us late are grateful it exists.

On the legislative side, we draft. Statutory text, technical corrections, committee report language, colloquies, and manager's amendments are the actual instruments of policy change, and the party that supplies the draft has enormous influence over the outcome. We also defend against provisions moving in the wrong direction, which often means identifying an authorizing committee's objection to an appropriations rider or a jurisdictional problem no one has raised yet.

We monitor continuously. Unified Agenda entries, OIRA review, interim final rules, guidance documents, enforcement policy statements, and no-action letters all move regulatory obligations without a formal rulemaking. Clients are told what changed, what it means for them, and what — if anything — they should do about it.

What we handle

• Notice-and-comment rulemaking participation
• Technical and legal comment letters supported by data
• Petitions for rulemaking, exemption, and reconsideration
• Administrative Procedure Act challenges
• Statutory drafting and technical corrections
• Committee report language and legislative history development
• Ex parte meetings and OIRA advocacy
• Guidance document and sub-regulatory advocacy
• Congressional Review Act analysis
• Regulatory impact and cost-benefit analysis review

Who we represent

• Regulated companies across industries
• Trade associations and standard-setting bodies
• Health systems, insurers, and providers
• Financial institutions and fintech companies
• Energy, infrastructure, and transportation clients
• Public interest and advocacy organizations