Government Affairs
Overview
Eckert Seamans’ Government Affairs Group consists of attorneys and other professionals who have years of experience working with both the legislative and administrative process of government in Washington, D.C.; Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts; and Richmond, Virginia.
Our Government Affairs team includes individuals who have held elected office as well as appointed positions in the offices of U.S. Congress, state legislatures and municipal government.
The firm’s knowledge of how legislative bodies and administrative agencies function enables it to provide complete services in all aspects of government representation, including the development and implementation of solutions to address a client’s administrative and legislative concerns. Eckert Seamans’ attorneys and other professionals analyze and summarize legislative and administrative proposals and assess their impact on a client’s business operations; coordinate actions between executive and legislative branches of government; assist in the development and presentation of testimony; draft legislation or regulations; advise on parliamentary, regulatory, or other procedural issues; and analyze political and policy considerations. In addition, the increasing complexity of the legislative process has fostered the firm’s development of a group of professionals who concentrate on managing all facets of a legislative initiative, including grass roots and public relations coordination.
Legislative Matters
The most common situations for which a legislative approach may be appropriate arise when a state legislature has enacted, or is in the process of enacting, legislation that will directly affect the business operations of a client, either positively or negatively.
In providing legislative representation to a client, the firm, as necessary, will:
- Identify legislative committees with jurisdiction over, and individual legislators with an interest in, the subject matter involved.
- Identify proposed legislation to serve as the vehicle for a legislative amendment to address the client’s problem.
- Meet with legislators and their staff members to represent the client’s position and recommend possible solutions.
- Draft legislative language and explanatory materials.
- Attend legislative hearings and drafting sessions.
- Draft testimony.
- Advise on parliamentary issues that may arise regarding the legislative solution.
- Provide technical assistance to the legislators and their staffs throughout the process.
- Assist in identifying governmental funding streams and departmental expenditures.
Administrative Matters
Eckert Seamans’ Government Affairs team can effectively address administrative problems within the federal, state, and local regulatory and administrative agencies. Our representation covers all aspects of agency administration, including regulatory compliance counseling, permitting, licensing, enforcement activities, and adoption and amendment of regulations and policies.
Sample activities undertaken by the firm’s Government Affairs team include tracking and responding to regulatory actions of federal and state agencies that affect a client’s business and operations; resolving disputes that arise concerning grant requirements; assisting clients in all aspects of the federal procurement process, including meeting procurement requirements for third-party contracting; satisfying federal transit labor requirements by negotiating with the appropriate employee representatives and advocating transit authorities’ positions before the U.S. Department of Labor; developing and negotiating funding agreements for major capital projects on behalf of local governmental bodies; working with the firm’s litigation attorneys to preserve judicial remedies; and pursuing employment matters before federal agencies and international organizations.
In addition, our Aviation Group counsels domestic and foreign airlines on regulatory matters before numerous federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, U.S. Department of State, and U.S. Department of Commerce.
Government Procurement
Our Government Affairs Group also includes attorneys who have wide-ranging experience assisting clients throughout every stage of the government procurement process, from identifying market opportunities, to advising on proposals, to drafting and negotiating contracts pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other government authorities.
Our Government Affairs Group also works closely with our Commercial Litigation Group that possesses expertise in handling various types of procurement related litigation, such as bid protests, disputes between prime and subcontractors, and defense from enforcement matters, such as suspension and debarment actions, litigation related to the False Claims Act, and assisting clients with government audits and investigations.
Membership in SCG Legal
Eckert Seamans is the Pennsylvania member firm in SCG Legal (formerly the State Capital Group), an association of independent law firms in all 50 U.S. state capitals and in business markets and financial centers around the world. Member firm attorneys bring a broad range of skills and experience, and those based in U.S. state capitals offer a unique knowledge of state legislatures and regulatory agencies; those based outside the United States offer similar perspectives and abilities in their jurisdictions.
Moreover, the firm’s Government Affairs attorneys and other professionals represent a client’s interests at the national or state level during the development of public policies that have the potential to affect the client’s business operations. In this type of representation, the firm serves as the client’s “eyes and ears,” as well as the client’s advocate.
Over the years, the firm has gained extensive experience in such areas as railroads, aviation, environment, telecommunications, economic development, labor law, education, health care, insurance, liquor, transportation, entertainment, land development, zoning, construction, intellectual property, automotive, professional licensing, engineering and design, gaming, public finance, economic development, heavy equipment and industrial manufacturing, mining, energy, oil and gas, mass transit, antitrust, consumer protection, international trade, taxation and spending policies, procurement, public finance, public employment, food service and hospitality, and product liability. The firm’s familiarity with these substantive areas and with the responsible legislative committees and executive agencies puts Eckert Seamans in an ideal position to advise clients on the appropriate government-related approaches for the successful resolution of a broad range of problems.