Photo of Zachary G. Parks

Zachary G. Parks

Zachary Parks advises corporations, trade associations, campaigns, and high-net worth individuals on their most important and challenging political law problems.

Chambers USA describes Zachary 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.” Zachary is also a leading lawyer in the emerging corporate political disclosure field, regularly advising corporations on these issues.

Zachary's 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. Zachary also frequently leads political law due diligence for investment firms and corporations during mergers and acquisitions.

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.

Zachary is also the founder and chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Political and Election Law Section.

Zachary 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, Zachary was a law clerk for Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.

Almost every election cycle, some outcomes come down to a small handful of votes. With months of long days, late nights, and lost weekends and millions of dollars in donor investments on the line, campaigns, ballot measure committees, and their donors need certainty that every vote is fairly counted. Combining

Continue Reading Election Recounts and Disputes

Shortly before adjourning for 2025, the Senate passed two bills to broaden disclosure and registration requirements related to the regulation of foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”): the Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act (S. 856 / H.R. 1883)

Continue Reading Senate Advances Bills To Broaden Foreign Agent Disclosures in Lobbying Reports

The 2025 proxy season saw significant developments with respect to proposals calling on companies to disclose information about their political contribution activity and lobbying activity, including an increase in support for political contribution proposals. That stronger support, particularly against the backdrop of reduced support for socially-oriented shareholder proposals, may lead

Continue Reading Is a Political Law Shareholder Proposal Under Your Tree? Strategies for Responding in the New Year

The U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ” or the “Department”) announced that, effective September 11, 2025, it is withdrawing several dozen Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (“NPRMs”), Advance Notices of Proposed Rulemaking, and Supplemental Notices of Proposed Rulemaking. The Department explained that it is “withdrawing these actions as part of the Federal

Continue Reading DOJ Withdraws Dozens of Regulatory Actions, Keeps FARA NRPM

Shareholder proposals on political issues—particularly lobbying spending disclosure and campaign finance issues—have been a common part of the proxy landscape for some time now. This proxy season, proposals seeking greater transparency around corporate political spending had surprising success compared to the past. This alert highlights that, especially given this development

Continue Reading Corporate Political Disclosure Shareholder Proposals Draw Surprising Support

Congress is considering several bills to broaden disclosure and registration requirements related to the regulation of foreign agents under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”): the Foreign Registration Obligations for Nonprofit Transparency (“FRONT”) Act (S. 2305), Disclosing Foreign Influence in Lobbying Act

Continue Reading Congress Weighs Foreign Agent Disclosure and Registration Bills

Employees in the investor relations departments of hedge fund managers and private equity firms typically do not consider themselves “lobbyists.” But state and local regulators sometimes have a different view. This article, published in the Hedge Fund Law Report, explains the types of investor relations activities that could

Continue Reading When Investor Relations Become Procurement Lobbying

Covington is pleased to announce that it has revised and updated its comprehensive 50-state survey of political laws for 2025.

Corporations, trade associations, non-profits, other organizations, and individuals face significant penalties and reputational harm if they violate federal or state laws governing corporate and personal political activities, the registration of

Continue Reading Covington Announces Political Law Survey (2025 Edition)

Covington is pleased to announce that it has revised and updated its comprehensive 50-state survey of pay-to-play laws for 2025.

Companies doing business with the federal government or state and local governments and companies operating in regulated industries are subject to a dizzying array of “pay-to-play” rules. These rules effectively

Continue Reading Covington Announces Pay-to-Play Survey (2025 Edition)

Last year, an asset manager with offices in New York, Texas, and Vermont was publicly censured by the Securities and Exchange Commission and ordered to pay a substantial fine. Its offense?  The asset manager hired an individual who had previously made a personal political donation to the campaign of a

Continue Reading Three Political Law Landmines for Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds, and Investment Firms