During the diligence process that precedes a merger or acquisition, investment firms and corporations should pay careful attention to political law risks.  Political laws are notoriously complex, are often not intuitive, and even seemingly minor or technical violations of these rules can result in significant penalties and reputational harm.  These risks are especially acute when the target company is a government contractor, retains a lobbying firm, has a government affairs department, operates a PAC, or has politically active executives.  To help investment firms and acquirers navigate these issues, we recently published an article addressing the top political law red flags to consider in the diligence process.  Red flags addressed include:

  • Is there a lingering “pay-to-play” problem that could jeopardize a major contract?
  • Is the company appropriately registered under applicable lobbying laws?
  • Is there a looming FARA problem?

By considering these and other political law issues up-front, an acquirer can avoid being blindsided by a massive compliance problem and can adjust purchase terms to minimize any risk the acquirer may inherit from the target.

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Photo of Zachary G. Parks Zachary G. Parks

Zachary Park advises a wide range of corporate and political clients on federal and state campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, pay to play, and government ethics laws. Mr. Parks regularly advises corporations and corporate executives on instituting political law compliance programs and conducts compliance…

Zachary Park advises a wide range of corporate and political clients on federal and state campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, pay to play, and government ethics laws. Mr. Parks regularly 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 clients in investigations by the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee.