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Derek Lawlor is of counsel in the firm’s Washington office and a member of the firm’s Election & Political Law and White Collar practice groups. He assists corporations, nonprofit organizations, and trade associations with federal and state lobbying, campaign finance, and government ethics issues. Mr. Lawlor also represents clients in government investigations and inquiries conducted by the Federal Election Commission, Office of Congressional Ethics, and Congressional Committees and Commissions.
Prior to receiving his law degree, Mr. Lawlor worked in the Office of General Counsel at the U.S. House of Representatives.
- Advising several Super PACs on issues related to formation, operation, and compliance with campaign finance laws.
- Representing federal candidates and officeholders in matters before the Federal Election Commission.
- Representing a tech company in a successful FEC advisory opinion request regarding an online political giving program.
- Representing a pharmaceutical company in investigations by the Senate Finance Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee.
- Representing major financial institutions in investigations by the Congressional Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC).
- Advising investment firms on state and local pay-to-play and lobbying compliance issues.
- Advising a public relations firm on compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
- Advising high-net worth individuals on congressional and executive branch financial disclosure requirements.
- Advising an individual through the Senate confirmation process.
- Representing a major corporation in an insider trading matter before the Securities Exchange Commission.
Pro Bono
- Representing Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as regulatory compliance counsel.
- Representing an individual in a private adoption matter.
- Advising a nonprofit organization on political tax and lobbying issues.
Updated July 2019, Covington Guide
In 1938, Congress enacted the Foreign Agents Registration Act ("FARA"), requiring "foreign agents" to register with the Attorney General. As amended over the years, it applies broadly to anyone who acts on behalf of a "foreign principal" to, among other things, influence U.S. policy or public opinion. Until recently, it was a backwater of American law—and a ...
May 12, 2020, Covington Alert
So-called "pay-to-play" rules can be a source of substantial anxiety for companies and investment firms doing business with state or local governments. Due to these pay-to-play rules, the personal political contributions of company executives, directors, employees, and even family members of employees can cause their investment firm employers to lose millions of ...
May 1, 2020, Inside Political Law
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic spreads through every industry, companies that previously steered clear of Washington, D.C. may find themselves contacting the federal government for assistance. From communicating with Members of Congress about potential provisions of the CARES Act to requesting new forms of assistance from federal agencies that oversee ...
April 30, 2020, Covington Alert
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic spreads through every industry, companies that previously steered clear of Washington, D.C. may find themselves contacting the federal government for assistance. From communicating with Members of Congress about potential provisions of the CARES Act to requesting new forms of assistance from federal agencies that oversee ...
April 29, 2020, Covington Alert
As states grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, many have opted to make changes to campaign finance and lobbying reporting due dates and filing procedures. Covington has assembled a chart of changes to state campaign finance and lobbying filing schedules that states have announced as of last week.
March 24, 2020, Inside Political Law
The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are reverberating in every sector of the global economy, from life sciences to transportation, retail to manufacturing, financial services to sports and entertainment. As federal, state, and local governments attempt to blunt the pandemic’s public health and economic effects, many companies are frantically working with ...
March 24, 2020, Covington Alert
The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic are reverberating in every sector of the global economy, from life sciences to transportation, retail to manufacturing, financial services to sports and entertainment. As federal, state, and local governments attempt to blunt the pandemic’s public health and economic effects, many companies are frantically working with ...
July 2020
As the legal, regulatory, and commercial implications of coronavirus COVID-19 continue to evolve, our lawyers and advisors are helping clients navigate the complex considerations that companies around the world are facing and develop plans and strategies in response. Reach out to our COVID-19 task force at COVID19@cov.com. Below is a compendium of resources ...
October 29, 2019, Covington Alert
Following the Department of Justice’s announcement in March of an initiative to increase enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), the Department has rolled out a new e-file system for FARA registrations. Notably, the new system only applies to new registrants, although the Department indicated that it will transition existing registrants to ...
October 28, 2019, Inside Political Law
Following the Department of Justice’s announcement in March of an initiative to increase enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”), the Department has rolled out a new e-file system for FARA registrations. Notably, the new system only applies to new registrants, although the Department indicated that it will transition existing registrants to ...
August 1, 2019, Covington Alert
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) must adhere to public notice-and-comment procedures before it can relieve certain tax-exempt organizations of the burden of reporting the names and addresses of their donors to the IRS, a Montana federal court ruled this week.
June 19, 2019, Covington Alert
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit yesterday issued a long-awaited opinion upholding, on the merits, a recent update to the SEC's pay-to-play rule. While the case involved only a narrow piece of the rule, the decision's logic is worded more broadly and could apply to the SEC rule as a whole, making future challenges to the rule much more difficult, ...
April 8, 2019, Inside Political Law
The recent passage of the Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018 (“JACK Act” or the “Act”) imposes new requirements on those registering and filing reports under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”). The Act amends the LDA to require that LDA registrants disclose listed lobbyists’ convictions for criminal offenses involving bribery, extortion, ...
April 8, 2019, Covington Alert
The recent passage of the Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act of 2018 (“JACK Act” or the “Act”) imposes new requirements on those registering and filing reports under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”).
April 3, 2019, Covington Alert
On March 29, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released the results of its annual report on compliance with the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”).
March 11, 2019, Covington Alert
Covington issued several client alerts in recent years warning of a rising tide of enforcement of the once-obscure Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (“FARA”). Signs of this trend emerged long before the recent, high-profile Special Counsel’s Office investigation.
February 11, 2019, Covington Advisory
The Federal Election Commission has announced contribution limits for 2019-2020. The new “per election” limits are effective for the 2019-2020 election cycle (November 7, 2018 – November 3, 2020), and the calendar year limits are effective January 1, 2019.
February 7, 2019, Inside Political Law
The Federal Election Commission has announced contribution limits for 2019-2020. The new “per election” limits are effective for the 2019-2020 election cycle (November 7, 2018 – November 3, 2020), and the calendar year limits are effective January 1, 2019. The FEC increased the amount an individual can contribute to a candidate to $2,800 per election, up from ...
October 11, 2018, Covington Advisory
With less than one month to go before the 2018 elections, the ground is shifting for major political donors. Developments over the last several years, and especially in the last few months, show that the rules of the road are changing with respect to many of the common election law issues faced by high net worth individuals.
August 6, 2018, Covington Alert
Companies doing business with state and local governments or operating in regulated industries are subject to a dizzying array of “pay-to-play” rules. These rules effectively prohibit company executives and employees (and in some cases, their family members) from making certain personal political contributions. Even inadvertent violations can be dangerous: A ...
July 18, 2018, Inside Political Law
In a significant and unexpected development, the U.S. Treasury Department announced yesterday that certain nonprofits — including trade associations and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations — would no longer be required to disclose the names and addresses of their donors on the annual “Form 990” they file with the Internal Revenue Service. Although the IRS ...
July 17, 2018, Covington Alert
In a significant and unexpected development, the U.S. Treasury Department announced yesterday that certain nonprofits — including trade associations and 501(c)(4) social welfare organizations — would no longer be required to disclose the names and addresses of their donors on the annual "Form 990" they file with the Internal Revenue Service.
New Tactic Emerges in Fight to Compel Companies to Disclose So-Called “Dark Money” Contributions
June 25, 2018, Covington Advisory
A new corporate political disclosure trend is coming. For years, those advocating increased corporate political disclosure have looked for ways to force companies to publicly reveal the names and amounts of corporate contributions to so-called “dark money” 501(c)(4) social welfare nonprofits and 501(c)(6) trade associations.
March 28, 2018, Covington Advisory
President Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum has set off a “stampede” of lobbying, according to the New York Times.
March 15, 2018, Covington Alert
In recent months, Congress’s efforts to reform dramatically the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) have picked up steam.
February 15, 2018, Covington Alert
On December 20, 2017, the Senate and the House voted to pass the conference version of H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”), and President Trump signed the bill into law on December 22, 2017. Below, we summarize those provisions of the tax reform legislation that are most likely to be of particular interest to political action and tax-exempt ...
November 28, 2017, Inside Political Law
UPDATE: The provision in the House bill, discussed below, was not included in the final Conference Agreement that became law. There is one very important political law provision to watch as the tax bill moves to a final vote in the Senate, and potentially a conference committee reconciles the House and Senate versions. This amendment will...… Continue ...
November 28, 2017, Covington Alert
There is one very important political law provision to watch as the tax bill moves to a final vote in the Senate, and potentially a conference committee reconciles the House and Senate versions. This amendment will remove the ban on partisan political activities by charitable entities, churches, educational institutions, and all other organizations exempt from ...
November 7, 2017, Covington Alert
With the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) in the news and public awareness of this formerly obscure statute at an all-time high, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), the influential chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation last week to revise the statute significantly, including reversing a decision Congress made in 1995 to remove ...
September 21, 2017, Covington Alert
Perhaps no industry faces more scrutiny and regulation of its political activities than the financial industry. Even though these rules are often not intuitive, failure to comply with them can result in big penalties, loss of business, and debilitating reputational consequences. This primer describes three sometimes overlooked risk areas for investment firms: ...
September 13, 2017, Covington Alert
The universe of those covered by the SEC’s pay-to-play restrictions is expanding. If a newly proposed SEC rule is adopted as expected, pay-to-play restrictions will now extend to cover the recently created class of broker-dealers called Capital Acquisition Brokers (“CABs”).
August 7, 2017, Covington Alert
Corporate legal and compliance departments are usually well aware of the laws regulating lobbying the federal government. Recent news reports, however, indicate that companies have more trouble with state and local lobbying laws.
February 2, 2017, Inside Political Law
The Federal Election Commission has announced contribution limits for the 2017-2018 election cycle. The new limits are effective January 1, 2017. The FEC did not change the limit on the amount an individual can contribution to a candidate, leaving the limit at $2700 per election. Because the primary and general count as separate elections, individuals may...… ...
February 2, 2017, Covington Alert
The Federal Election Commission has announced contribution limits for the 2017-2018 election cycle. The new limits are effective January 1, 2017.
Covington Publishes Comprehensive Advisory Comparing Trump and Obama Executive Orders on Ethics
January 31, 2017, Inside Political Law
President Donald Trump this weekend signed his promised “drain the swamp” Executive Order, which imposes ethics restrictions on incoming and outgoing Trump Administration appointees. Incoming appointees would, of course, do well to carefully review the provisions of the Executive Order. But companies that deal with the Administration—whether by lobbying the ...
January 31, 2017, Covington Alert
President Donald Trump this weekend signed his promised “drain the swamp” Executive Order, which imposes ethics restrictions on incoming and outgoing Trump Administration appointees. Incoming appointees would, of course, do well to carefully review the provisions of the Executive Order. But companies that deal with the Administration—whether by lobbying the ...
December 13, 2016, Inside Political Law
As the President-elect begins to nominate individuals for Senate-confirmed positions in his administration, one of the major hurdles these individuals face is the statutory requirement that the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (“OGE”) review and certify a public disclosure of each source of income exceeding $200 and each property interest exceeding ...
December 13, 2016, Covington Alert
As the President-elect begins to nominate individuals for Senate-confirmed positions in his administration, one of the major hurdles these individuals face is the statutory requirement that the Director of the Office of Government Ethics (“OGE”) review and certify a public disclosure of each source of income exceeding $200 and each property interest exceeding ...
November 23, 2016, Covington Alert
Corporations, trade associations, and others who interact with federal executive branch employees should be aware of the Office of Government Ethics’ (OGE) recent amendments to the executive branch gift rules, which go into effect on January 1, 2017. Seeking to encourage transparency and advance public confidence in the integrity of federal officials, OGE ...
November 17, 2016, Covington Alert
With Election Day 2016 in the books, the political world turns to the transition of power and the January 20, 2017 Inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence. With the swearing in of the new President and Vice President will come the traditional balls, parties, and receptions. The inauguration and related events are costly, ...
November 15, 2016, Covington Alert
Over the next nine weeks, the Trump Presidential Transition team will formulate policy and staffing recommendations for the new administration. This alert gives a broad overview of the Transition and the laws that regulate interactions with Transition team members on issues related to appointments and policy recommendations. Persons interested in this topic may ...
November 10, 2016, Covington Alert
With the election over, the process of selecting and vetting individuals to fill the next administration’s key appointed positions is quickly shifting into high gear. For those who are called to serve in such positions, the decision to enter the process may be one of the most important and life-changing decisions they will make. Accordingly, it is critical for ...
August 25, 2016, Covington Advisory
This month, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), an obscure, almost 80-year old, statute has rocketed to national headlines. FARA, a sweeping federal criminal statute, requires certain individuals and companies acting on behalf of foreign principals to register with the Department of Justice and file regular detailed reports of their activities. As we ...
June 9, 2016, Covington Alert
On Friday, three Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioners provided a clear description of their understanding of the facts and law that led them to oppose opening an investigation into whether Murray Energy coerced its employees into making political contributions. Statement of Reasons of Chairman Petersen and Commissioners Hunter and Goodman, FEC MUR ...
May 23, 2016, Covington Alert
As we move toward the 2016 general election, campaign activity at the federal, state, and local levels continues to heat up. Super PACs again promise to play a prominent role in federal races, while at the same time impacting a wider range of non-federal races further down the ballot.
April 13, 2016, Covington Alert
Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) regulations permit a corporation to communicate with its “restricted” or “solicitable class” on any subject, including electoral advocacy and political fundraising. See 11 C.F.R. § 114.3(a). This includes solicitations of contributions to the corporation’s PAC. We frequently see questions arising about who falls within the ...
Covington Announces New Counsel
April 1, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC — Covington has promoted eight lawyers to of counsel and eight to special counsel, effective April 1, 2016. The new of counsel are as follows: Stefanie Doebler (Washington) focuses her practice on health care compliance matters for pharmaceutical and medical device clients. She provides advice related to advertising and promotion, fraud and abuse, ...
August 13, 2014, Covington E-Alert
January 7, 2014, Covington Advisory
February 11, 2013, Covington E-Alert
April 3, 2012, Covington E-Alert
November 17, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO, November 17, 2011 — Covington & Burling helped secure approval from the Federal Election Commission today for an innovative shopping program that could change the way individuals make campaign contributions by making it easier for small donors to participate in the political process. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., GivingSphere allows ...
September 22, 2011, Covington E-Alert
March 8, 2011, Covington E-Alert
February 7, 2011, Covington E-Alert