Regulations, Presidential Executive Orders, and other federal agency actions (including grant terminations) can have significant consequences for businesses, academic institutions, nonprofit entities, and individuals. Our attorneys have substantial experience both litigating challenges to agency actions and representing clients in agency proceedings. We work with trade associations, businesses in a wide range of industries, and other adversely affected parties to challenge federal government actions that transgress statutory or constitutional limits. We also represent parties that support Executive Branch actions—including decisions to deregulate—that are challenged by others.

Our team includes lawyers who have served in senior regulatory and litigation positions at a broad range of federal agencies—including the Department of Justice, the agency tasked with defending challenges in court. Our deep understanding of how the government defends challenges to agency actions allows us to best represent our clients who are either adverse to the government or seek to work with the government in defense of government actions. We also have substantial experience working with specific regulated industries, including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, financial institutions, communications, energy, technology, and defense. Our team regularly advises clients at every stage of the administrative process—from developing an initial legal strategy and drafting comments during the rulemaking process to litigating in federal district or appellate courts across the country. And we are particularly well equipped to address novel and complex statutory and constitutional issues that arise during administrative proceedings or resulting litigation.

Significant agency actions are almost always challenged in court, often under the APA. Agency and other executive actions can be challenged under the Constitution, as contrary to statute, or as arbitrary and capricious. The challenges can be brought either by the industry or party being regulated or by third parties objecting to agency deregulatory efforts or urging more stringent regulation. Parties that support agency actions challenged by others often intervene in the litigation to help defend the action at issue. Before litigation even begins, parties should ensure that their interests are represented before the agency in question. We assist clients during agency proceedings of all types, and we have challenged—and in other contexts, defended—regulations and orders by a wide range of federal agencies, including the:

Whenever there is a change in Administration, there is typically an increase in the volume of Presidential and agency actions that may significantly affect regulated parties. In the coming years, we anticipate significant actions relating to trade, higher education, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, energy and the environment, immigration, and communications, among others. We are well situated to bring and defend challenges in these and other areas.