With its impressive Washington, DC pedigree, O’Melveny’s Public Policy & Political Strategy group helps individuals, corporations, and industry groups navigate the often byzantine Beltway. 

Our team of former high-ranking government officials offers insider insight into how Washington’s politics, policies, and personalities really work—from campaign finance, lobbying, and other legislation and regulations to Congressional investigations and other inquiries.

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  • Public Service
    • O’Melveny lawyers have held a broad range of government positions in both Democratic and Republican administrations and campaigns, including the current administration. These Washington, DC-based lawyers include:
      • K. Lee Blalack II, Chief Counsel and Staff Director, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (1999-2000)
      • Brian Boyle, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General (2003-2005)
      • Walter Dellinger, Acting Solicitor General (1996-1997) and Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (1993-1996)
      • Ted Kassinger, Deputy Secretary (2004-2005) and General Counsel (2001-2004), U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Agency Experience
    • Our regulatory experience spans a number of agencies, including:
      • Department of Commerce
      • Department of Education
      • Department of Energy
      • Department of the Interior
      • Department of State
      • Department of Treasury
      • Department of Health and Human Services
      • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Policy
      • Consumer Finance Protection Bureau
      • Commodities Futures Trading Commission
      • Environmental Protection Agency
      • Federal Communications Commission
      • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
      • Federal Trade Commission
      • Food and Drug Administration
      • General Services Administration
      • HUD
      • International Trade Commission
      • Securities and Exchange Commission
  • Congressional Investigations
    • We defend companies, organizations, and individuals responding to Congressional committee subpoenas, prepare clients to testify before Congressional committees, manage public relations and political strategy and collateral litigation, and represent clients in ethics inquiries and related criminal investigations. We draw on a team of talented and diverse lawyers with decades of government experience and creative approaches to investigations. Our experience extends well beyond Congress; our investigations team routinely represents corporations, audit committees, individual officers and directors, and others in internal, SEC, DOJ, and state attorney-general investigations.
  • Integrated Legal Strategies
    • O’Melveny helps senior executives and their companies navigate the issues that span international legal, regulatory, and policy-making arenas. Because our clients’ responsibilities have evolved in scope and complexity, we aid corporate leadership in crafting, validating, and executing nuanced, effective strategies to achieve their business objectives while coordinating strategy among critical constituencies. Our team draws upon the vast experience and diverse skills of its members to provide clients with a distinctive mix of strategic litigation and transactions advice, regulatory-compliance counsel, and sophisticated public policy analysis on the most important issues a business can face.
  • International Trade Regulation
    • We counsel clients around the world on US export controls, economic sanctions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), antiboycott, and customs laws, and assist clients in developing and auditing compliance programs relating to these laws. We regularly represent clients concerning regulatory approvals associated with direct foreign investments in the United States, including national security reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). We also represent clients facing civil or criminal enforcement proceedings stemming from regulations applicable to cross-border activities. Similarly, our lawyers collaborate closely with our transactional teams to resolve regulatory issues that arise in the context of cross-border mergers, acquisitions, and financings.
  • Legislative and Regulatory Counseling
    • O’Melveny helps corporations, private equity firms, hedge funds, integrated financial institutions, insurance companies, utilities, and renewable energy companies stay abreast of the increasingly complex and changing regulation facing the healthcare and financial services industries. Our distinguished group of former high-ranking government officials draw on their deep experience to help clients understand the decision-making procedures followed by federal agencies, Congress, and the courts, and offer guidance at critical junctures.
  • Lobbying Regulations
    • We have helped numerous clients adapt to the evolving requirements for registration, reporting, and restriction of lobbying activity under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act and other laws, as new aspects of their daily business become subject to lobbying regimes. Our team also advises clients on the requirements of registration under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).
    • Ford Motor Company
    • Goldman Sachs
    • Harvard University
    • Hess Corporation
    • Humana
    • ImClone Systems, Inc.
    • Partners Healthcare System
    • Planned Parenthood
    • UBS AG
    • UnitedHealth Group