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Zachary Parks advises corporations, trade associations, campaigns, and high-net worth individuals on their most important and challenging political law problems.
Chambers USA describes Mr. Parks as “highly regarded by his clients in the political law arena,” noting that clients praised him as their “go-to outside attorney for election law, campaign finance, pay-to-play and PAC issues.” Mr. Parks is also a leading expert in the emerging corporate political disclosure field, regularly advising corporations on these issues.
Mr. Parks' expertise includes the Federal Election Campaign Act, the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the Ethics in Government Act, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play rules. He has also helped clients comply with the election and political laws of all 50 states.
He routinely advises corporations and corporate executives on instituting political law compliance programs and conducts compliance training for senior corporate executives and lobbyists. He also has extensive experience conducting corporate internal investigations concerning campaign finance and lobbying law compliance and has defended his political law clients in investigations by the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, Congressional committees, and in litigation.
During the 2012 election cycle, Mr. Parks served as one of the original members of the Romney for President, Inc. volunteer legal team. He is also the founder and chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Political and Election Law Section.
Mr. Parks also has extensive complex litigation experience, having litigated major environmental claims, class actions, and multi-district proceedings for financial institutions, corporations, and public entities.
From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Parks was a law clerk for Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Election and Political Law
- Represented Qualcomm in first-of-its-kind litigation brought by New York State Common Retirement Fund to compel production of internal books and records concerning political contributions. New York State Common Retirement Fund v. Qualcomm Incorporated (Del. Ch., 2013) (No. 8170-CS).
- Represented prominent political candidate in connection with high-profile “pay-to-play” investigation.
- Successfully defended nationally known television personality in investigation by the Federal Election Commission.
- Spearheaded political law compliance review for global natural resources company.
- Led internal lobbying disclosure compliance review for leading international financial services firm.
- Represented major manufacturer in Government Accountability Office audit of its compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
- Served as on-site First Amendment counsel for national political party convention.
- Represented the Republican National Committee in investigations by the House Judiciary Committee and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform relating to the use of RNC email accounts by White House officials.
- Conducted internal investigation for the National Republican Congressional Committee concerning one of the largest ever embezzlements by a political committee treasurer.
- Prepared pharmaceutical company CEO for testimony before U.S. House committee panel.
Complex Litigation
- Represented leading financial institution in multiple consumer protection class actions, including a major multi-district class action, all of which were successfully settled.
- Represented a leading financial institution in antitrust class action brought against eight banks. The case was successfully settled as to Mr. Parks’ client.
- Won dismissal of fraud claims and favorably settled multi-million dollar arbitration for sellers of a United States software company.
Pro Bono
- Represented Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts as regulatory compliance counsel.
- Prepared Supreme Court amicus brief on behalf of 88 Members of Congress in Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (No. 13-354).
- Won unanimous reversal of Maryland resident’s firearms and controlled substance convictions. Carrero-Vasquez v. Maryland (Md. Spec. App. 2013) (No. 1443).
September 22, 2017, Inside Political Law
Perhaps no industry faces more scrutiny and regulation of its political activities than the financial services 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. In this advisory, we describe three sometimes overlooked political law ...
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 14, 2017, Global Policy Watch
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”). In this advisory, we discuss the background on the proposed rule and its implications ...
September 14, 2017, Inside Political Law
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”). In this advisory, we discuss the background on the proposed rule and its implications ...
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.
May 4, 2017, Inside Political Law
Corporate political disclosure activists this week launched a new tactic in their fight to pressure companies to publicly disclose information about their political and lobbying activities. For more than a decade, public pension funds and others have aggressively pushed shareholder resolutions that call on public companies to self-disclose information about ...
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 executive branch, by seeing a former executive take a Presidentially appointed position, or by hiring a former Administration appointee—must also be mindful of these, in some cases, extremely restrictive provisions, lest they unwittingly get caught up in an ethics scandal.
January 10, 2017, Covington Alert
“Call the office asap!” Those may be the most feared words in the English language for Chiefs of Staff to Members of Congress. This primer covers what to do when that call reveals that a Member or staffer is under federal investigation.
November 23, 2016, Inside Political Law
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 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 redefined some of the gifts executive branch employees can receive from outside sources and suggested when permissible gifts should be declined because they may create an appearance of impropriety. The new amendments include some of the most detailed changes to the executive branch gift rules in many years. This alert outlines the most significant changes.
November 17, 2016, Inside Political Law
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...… Continue ...
November 17, 2016, Global Policy Watch
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 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, and paid for largely with private funds. Individuals, businesses, and other organizations donating to the inauguration, hosting related events, or giving out tickets to either should remember that they are operating in a highly regulated space. We profile three common compliance issues below. Persons interested in this alert may also wish to review our alerts on the Presidential Transition and the political appointee vetting process.
November 16, 2016, Inside Political Law
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 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 also wish to view our client alert on the presidential appointee vetting process.
November 15, 2016, The Hill
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 anyone considering an appointed position to understand the presidential appointment vetting process from the start.
September 30, 2016, Global Policy Watch
A report published today criticizes companies that refuse to disclose information about their political spending on their websites. The non-profit Center for Political Accountability and the Zicklin School at Wharton annually rank all companies in the S&P 500 on their political disclosure practices, based on a 70-point metric. The more information companies ...
September 29, 2016, Inside Political Law
A report published today criticizes companies that refuse to disclose information about their political spending on their websites. The non-profit Center for Political Accountability and the Zicklin School at Wharton annually rank all companies in the S&P 500 on their political disclosure practices, based on a 70-point metric. The more information companies ...
August 30, 2016, Law360
August 30, 2016, Covington Alert
As election season enters full swing, with political candidates at all levels actively soliciting campaign donations from individuals and companies, it is an ideal time for all companies to review the policies and procedures in place for political donations. While the SEC’s pay-to-play rules governing registered investment advisers and their “covered associates” are well known, the rules governing swap dealers are more obscure. Specifically, swap dealers and security-based swap dealers are subject to the “pay-to-play” rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) respectively, which impose restrictions on the making of campaign contributions to officials of certain government entities with which a swap dealer does business.
August 29, 2016, Global Policy Watch
The New York Times, earlier this month, reported that “secret ledgers” in Ukraine show $12.7 million in cash payments designated for former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort from Ukraine’s pro-Russian political party. Days later, the Associated Press reported that Manafort helped the pro-Russian party “secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments ...
August 25, 2016, Inside Political Law
The New York Times, earlier this month, reported that “secret ledgers” in Ukraine show $12.7 million in cash payments designated for former Donald Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort from Ukraine’s pro-Russian political party. Days later, the Associated Press reported that Manafort helped the pro-Russian party “secretly route at least $2.2 million in payments ...
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 face a potential “tipping point” in FARA interest and enforcement, this advisory provides a basic compliance primer for those working for or contracting with foreign companies, governments, political parties, and individuals.
June 29, 2016, Global Policy Watch
The Ferrari carrying former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appears to have made a U-turn this week on its way to the federal penitentiary. Covington released today a Client Alert on the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States, a decision which vacated Governor McDonnell’s conviction and redraws the lines for corruption prosecutions. The Court ...
June 29, 2016, Inside Political Law
The Ferrari carrying former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appears to have made a U-turn this week on its way to the federal penitentiary. Covington released today a Client Alert on the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States, a decision which vacated Governor McDonnell’s conviction and redraws the lines for corruption prosecutions. The Court ...
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 6661. While clarity in the law is always to be commended, the standard they use to define when a contribution is coerced is narrow and will certainly allow conduct that many employers now reject as excessive. As with two earlier decisions in which three Commissioners voted not to pursue enforcement actions against employers who compelled employees to attend a candidate’s rally or to waive signs or make calls supporting a candidate, it is clear that the FEC will not be an effective barrier to employers pressuring employees to engage in many kinds of political activity. As Lindsay Burke and I noted in a recent article in Corporate Counsel Magazine, there remain state employment law issues to consider, but the signal from this recent FEC case is unmistakable.
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.
May 20, 2016, Global Policy Watch
The Obama Administration’s publication yesterday of a regulation increasing the universe of employees entitled to overtime pay might reduce the number of employees from whom corporate PACs can seek contributions. The new regulations, which take effect on December 1, 2016, increase the salary level below which certain employees are entitled to overtime pay. ...
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 restricted class in one of two contexts: (a) in an effort to ensure the class is not too narrowly defined, depriving the PAC of potential donors; and (b) when a company reads the definition of “professional or administrative personnel” in the statute to only be a question of whether the employee is “salaried” or not, not considering the second prong of the test described below.
Congress has defined a corporation’s restricted class as consisting of the following:
- The corporation’s “executive or administrative personnel.”
- The corporation’s “stockholders,” as defined by FEC regulations.
- Individuals who are members of the restricted class of any subsidiary, branch, division, or “affiliate” of the company (the FEC has a multi-part test for determining which entities count as affiliates”).
- Immediate family members of the above individuals.
April 4, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
Zack Parks is quoted in this Wall Street Journal article regarding political spending and disclosure. According to Parks, "Companies need to think strategically about these issues.” He adds, “Companies that ignore disclosure initiatives have been the target of shareholder resolutions, bad press and lawsuits. But kitchen-sink disclosure isn't risk free.”
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, ...
January 22, 2016, Global Policy Watch
A $12 million settlement announced last week by the Securities & Exchange Commission suggests that the SEC will aggressively pursue alleged schemes connecting political contributions to government contracts even if the political contributions do not violate its 2010 pay-to-play rule. According to the settlement order, in 2010, the head of Public Funds at State ...
November 4, 2015, Global Policy Watch
Corporate PAC managers may soon find that the universe of employees who receive corporate PAC solicitations has unexpectedly shrunk. In July 2015, the Department of Labor proposed new regulations that would dramatically increase the number of workers entitled to overtime wages. The Department of Labor estimates that, under the new regulations, approximately 5 ...
October 13, 2015, Global Policy Watch
A report published last week by the Center for Political Accountability will result in more pressure on public companies to voluntarily disclose information about their political spending. Each year, CPA in collaboration with the Zicklin Center at the University of Pennsylvania issues a detailed report “scoring” companies on their corporate political disclosure ...
October 8, 2015, Covington Alert
March/April 2015, The Corporate Governance Advisor
February 5, 2015, Law360
February 4, 2015, Global Policy Watch
The Federal Election Commission has increased the limits on the amount an individual can contribute to a candidate or national political party for the 2015-2016 election cycle. An individual can now give up to $2,700 per election to a candidate for federal office, up from $2,600. Because the primary and general count as separate elections, individuals may...… ...
January 30, 2015, The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation
August 18, 2014, LXBN TV
Covington's Zack Parks was interviewed by The Lexblog Network regarding the Obama Administration loosening its ban on having lobbyists sit on federal committees, boards and commissions.
August 13, 2014, Covington E-Alert
July 31, 2014, Law360
April 2, 2014, Covington E-Alert
FEC Year in Review
February 6, 2014, Covington E-Alert
January 7, 2014, Covington Advisory
October 2013, The Banking Law Journal
August 15, 2013, The Hill's Congress Blog
June 2013, Wall Street Lawyer
May 16, 2013, Covington E-Alert
Covington Announces Eight New Counsel
April 5, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC, April 4, 2013 — Covington & Burling is pleased to announce the promotion of one lawyer to of counsel and seven lawyers to special counsel, effective April 1, 2013. Muftiah McCartin, the new of counsel, is a member of the public policy and government affairs practice. Ms. McCartin’s distinguished public service career spans 34 years on Capitol ...
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Reportedly Plans Campaign Finance Investigation
April 4, 2013, Covington Advisory
January 8, 2013, Law360
January 3, 2013, Covington E-Alert
November 13, 2012, Law360
February 13, 2012, Covington E-Alert
February 6, 2012, Covington E-Alert
November 22, 2010, Covington E-Alert
Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate Finally Go Live with HLOGA Semi-Annual Certification
July 1, 2008, Covington E-Alert
- Chambers USA, Government: Political Law (2015-2017)
- Washington DC Super Lawyers, Legislative & Governmental Affairs "Rising Star" (2014-2017)
Practices
Education
Brigham Young University, J. Reuben Clark Law School, J.D., 2004
- magna cum laude
- Elected Order of the Coif
- Law Review, Lead Articles Editor
Brigham Young University, B.A., 2001
- magna cum laude