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
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.
Covington Announces Political Law Survey (2025 Edition)
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 Announces Pay-to-Play 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)Three Political Law Landmines for Hedge Funds, Private Equity Funds, and Investment Firms
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 FirmsDon’t Get Stuck in the Revolving Door: A Primer on Federal Post-Government Employment Restrictions
With the end of the Biden Administration, the start of the Trump 2.0 Administration, and a change of power in the U.S. House, the steady churn of high-skill professionals moving in and out of government positions has reached an all-time high. Indeed, beyond the typical cadre of newly unemployed political…
Continue Reading Don’t Get Stuck in the Revolving Door: A Primer on Federal Post-Government Employment RestrictionsDepartment of Justice Proposes Major Changes to FARA Regulations, Including Sweeping Changes Affecting Multinational Companies
On January 2, 2025, the Department of Justice published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(“NPRM”) soliciting public comments on potential amendments to the Department’s regulations
regarding the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”). The regulatory amendments proposed
by the Department are significant, and they would take the statute in a substantially…
New Law Appears to Restrict Defense Contractors from Retaining Consultants Who Lobby for Chinese Military Companies
Under a newly enacted law, beginning June 30, 2026, defense contractors risk losing all future contracts with the Defense Department if they engage outside consultants that lobby for certain Chinese companies. On December 23, 2024, President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025…
Continue Reading New Law Appears to Restrict Defense Contractors from Retaining Consultants Who Lobby for Chinese Military CompaniesFEC Year in Review 2024
With a game-changing advisory opinion (AO 2024-01), 2024 started out with a bang at the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”). Other consequential opinions, enforcement actions, and regulations continued in the following months, challenging the notion that the divided Commission cannot find consensus.
In this alert, we highlight the FEC’s major…
Continue Reading FEC Year in Review 2024A Primer for Navigating the Presidential Appointee Vetting and Confirmation Process
Following the decisive election on November 5, the process of selecting and vetting individuals to fill the second Trump administration’s key appointed positions is quickly shifting into high gear. For those tapped for consideration, the decision to enter the process may be one of the most significant decisions of their…
Continue Reading A Primer for Navigating the Presidential Appointee Vetting and Confirmation ProcessSEC Enforcement Order Highlights Far Reach of Pay-to-Play Restrictions
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this week issued a cease-and-desist order that demonstrates the SEC pay-to-play rule’s expansiveness and the SEC’s readiness to enforce it to the letter, even when it is virtually impossible that a political contribution could have influenced a government entity’s investment decision.
In this alert…
Continue Reading SEC Enforcement Order Highlights Far Reach of Pay-to-Play Restrictions