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Andrew Garrahan

Andrew Garrahan represents and counsels clients at the intersection of law and politics. He guides them through both regulatory compliance issues and government investigations on matters including state and federal campaign finance, ethics, lobbying, and corruption, as well as in congressional investigations.

Andrew’s prior career in political fundraising gives him a unique perspective on the challenges faced by his clients, which include corporations, candidates, government officials, political and nonprofit organizations, and private individuals.

Andrew’s counseling and advisory practice includes:

guiding clients on structuring of and compliance for their state and federal lobbying and grassroots advocacy campaigns;
representing campaigns, Super PACs, corporations, trade associations, and individuals on the applicability of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and state campaign finance law;
counseling on Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) registration and disclosure, and its interaction with the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA);
helping companies comply with state and federal ethics laws, particularly on gifts and conflicts of interests, and domestic anticorruption; and
auditing corporate political law compliance practices.

Andrew’s investigations and defense work includes:

representing clients in Congressional investigations, including responding to letter requests and subpoenas;
preparing company officers and other individuals for testimony in Congressional investigative hearings;
defending clients in Department of Justice matters related to campaign finance, lobbying, ethics, and public corruption; and
representing clients before the FEC and state campaign finance, lobbying, and ethics regulators.

Effective tomorrow, June 11, 2020, a new law in Washington state prohibits involvement of “foreign nationals” in state campaign finance activity.  The law also requires corporations and other entities to certify their compliance with the new law whenever they make a contribution in the state.  This new law reinforces Washington’s
Continue Reading Washington Becomes Latest State to Pass Law Prohibiting Foreign Involvement in Campaign Finance Activity

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 published a client alert containing a chart of changes to state campaign finance and lobbying filing schedules that states have announced
Continue Reading State Lobbyist and Campaign Finance Filing Changes Related to COVID-19

As the coronavirus pandemic continues across the country, many corporations, organizations, and individuals are looking for ways they can help fight back. This often includes donating money, goods, or services to federal, state, or local government entities. These well-intentioned donations can generate compliance problems if not handled appropriately from the
Continue Reading Compliance Considerations for Companies and Individuals Donating Funds, Goods, or Services to Domestic Government Entities

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
Continue Reading Interacting with the Government During the Pandemic: Compliance Blind Spots for Corporations and Executives

Last year, we blogged about a new and highly restrictive disclosure law in New Jersey that took aim at so-called “dark money” spending by nonprofit and political organizations.  In response to a series of lawsuits, a federal court has issued an order permanently prohibiting the state from enforcing the law
Continue Reading New Jersey “Dark Money” Disclosure Law Permanently Enjoined

Amid ongoing focus on how social media and other companies approach online advertising, California’s latest effort to require disclosure of online advertising will take effect January 1.  We blogged on these revisions to the California DISCLOSE Act, sometimes called the Social Media DISCLOSE Act, when they passed back in 2018. 
Continue Reading New Online Political Advertising Rules Coming to California January 1

The California legislature passed a new law this week that, if signed by the Governor, would impose campaign contribution limits on city and county elections in the state.  Under current law, cities and counties may adopt their own contribution limits, but most have not.  According to the legislature, this has
Continue Reading California Poised to Adopt Campaign Contribution Limits for City and County Elections

So-called “dark money” — political contributions and spending by groups that do not have to disclose their donors — continues to draw the attention of state legislators, with Colorado and New Jersey recently adopting laws that attempt to force some donor disclosure from the groups.  They join other states, including
Continue Reading New Jersey, Colorado Join Growing List of States Regulating “Dark Money”

Earlier this week, California Gov. Jerry Brown approved the Social Media Disclose Act, to take effect in 2020.  We previously blogged about the Social Media DISCLOSE Act, which will place new disclosure obligations on social networks like Facebook and Twitter; advertising platforms like Google; and anyone who engages in
Continue Reading California Social Media DISCLOSE Act Becomes Law, Takes Effect 2020

California’s new “Social Media DISCLOSE Act” takes on the trending topic of online political advertising disclosure. Assuming Gov. Jerry Brown signs the bill, then come 2020, social media networks like Twitter and Facebook, as well as Google and similar tools, may face burdensome new obligations related to California
Continue Reading California’s New “Social Media DISCLOSE Act” Regulates Social Media Companies, Search Engines, Other Online Advertising Outlets, and Political Advertisers