Overview
The most revolutionary development in the American legal system over recent decades has been the rise and growth of the modern “administrative state,” as both the United States Congress and state legislatures have increasingly relied upon administrative agencies to regulate a wide range of business operations and activities. Sometimes referred to as the “Fourth Branch” of government, these regulatory agencies often have broad jurisdiction and delegated authority to dictate what businesses can and cannot do. Because these agencies today represent the frontline of modern government, it is a fundamental fact of commercial life that companies must interface and deal with them on an ongoing basis.
As a major national law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., and many of the most important state regulatory jurisdictions across the United States, Locke Lord has a proven ability to represent its clients before a wide array of state and federal administrative agencies. Whether in contested administrative hearings and appeals, agency rulemaking proceedings, or the growing number of regulatory enforcement actions, our lawyers are actively involved in shaping the regulatory landscape nationwide. We have the requisite legal experience, key government contacts, and knowledge of our clients’ businesses to achieve their objectives in the most efficient and economical manner possible. Because time is often of the essence in these matters, our ability to provide in real time a multidisciplinary team of accomplished practitioners devoted to the task at hand can be the difference between success and failure.
In order to effectively represent clients in the administrative and regulatory arena, a law firm must have a thorough understanding of the full range of formal and informal legal processes that administrative agencies may employ in implementing regulatory programs. Through hundreds of regulatory proceedings before scores of state and federal administrative agencies, Locke Lord’s attorneys have become intimately familiar with all forms of administrative processes and procedures, including:
- Licensing & Certification
- Ratemaking
- Rulemaking
- Enforcement
- Regulatory Compliance
- Regulatory Litigation & Appeals
- Open Government
- Government Contracts &Procurement
- Mergers & Acquisitions
Of course, our attorneys not only represent clients before the various regulatory agencies, but also handle regulatory matters before the appellate courts, thus providing continuity as contested cases proceed on judicial review from the agencies through the courts.
In representing a client before an administrative agency, it is also essential to have a keen understanding of its business operations and practices, as well as those of its industry as a whole. Locke Lord’s administrative and regulatory attorneys are thoroughly familiar with a wide range of business and industry, based upon decades of representing clients in a variety of substantive regulatory areas, including the following:
- Energy Law
- Public Utility Law
- Telecommunications Law
- Environmental Law
- Insurance Law
- Transportation Law
- Health Care Law
- Banking & Public Finance Law