Mr. Davidson represents individuals and organizations under investigation by federal and state agencies such as the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Office of the Inspector General. He also practices general commercial litigation, including securities class actions and contract disputes.
Stay Connected with Simon Davidson»The Office of Government Ethics recently proposed significant changes to the rules prohibiting gifts to executive branch employees. If the changes become law, the biggest impact could be felt by organizations that employ lobbyists. For such organizations, the changes would eliminate the often-utilized "widely attended gathering" exception to the gift ban. The latest Question of Ethics examines this proposed change.
Federal law does not formally require lobbyists to undergo Congressional ethics training. Nonetheless, there are good reasons for lobbyists to do so. Likewise, organizations that employ lobbyists should consider ethics training programs. The latest Question of Ethics examines why.
As hundreds of new staffers and Members join Congress for the first time, hundreds of others exit Congress for the private sector. Businesses looking to hire a departing Member or staffer should be aware that there are restrictions on what such Members and staffers can do after leaving office. The latest Question of Ethics takes a look at those restrictions.
Following the midterm elections, the 112th Congress will include more than 90 freshman Members in the House of Representatives. Most of the Members-elect will take their seats when the new Congress begins on January 3, 2011. Do the House ethics rules or the restrictions on gifts from lobbyists apply before the new Members take their seats on January 3? The latest Question of Ethics has some answers.
More than two years have passed since Congress enacted legislation requiring all businesses with in-house lobbyists to comply with the Congressional gift rules. Yet, many businesses are still unsure about how to comply with these rules, which were not originally designed to apply to anyone outside Congress. What can businesses do to comply? The latest Question of Ethics has some answers.
Beware businesses that file lobbying disclosure forms. Roll Call’s Alex Knott writes that many businesses are still making a common mistake when calculating the lobbying expenses disclosed on their forms.
Line 13 of Form LD-2 requires businesses with in-house lobbyists to disclose their quarterly lobbying expenses. Some businesses have taken this to mean only their in-house lobbying expenses, and not amounts paid to outside lobbyists. They have presumed that outside lobbyists are already disclosing their expenses on their own reports.
But, official guidance from the House and Senate rejects this approach. It says that businesses must disclose “all of their expenses incurred in connection with lobbying activities, including all payments to retained lobby firms or outside entities, without considering whether any particular payee has a separate obligation to register and report under the LDA.”
Knott cites a CQ Moneyline study that concluded that errors have resulted in underreporting of at least $338 million in lobbying expenses over the past 12 years. In some cases, Knott says, the errors were attributed to accounting not coordinating closely enough with counsel.
Whatever the cause of the errors, businesses should take care not to make them. Penalties for false disclosure forms can be stiff, with civil fines as high as $200,000 and criminal penalties including up to five years in jail.
The Government, Regulatory and Criminal Investigations Department of McGuireWoods LLP launched the Subject to Inquiry blog in 2010. The blog, which features attorneys from the firm's GRCI Department, takes a look at topics, trends and cases in our industry that may be of interest to our clients or those following these aspects of the law addressed in the blog.
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