Crowley Fleck’s Lobbying, Regulatory and Administrative Affairs Practice Group guides clients through the complex process of governmental affairs. The group is a diverse team of legal professionals, many with government backgrounds. We work closely with our clients to monitor legislative, regulatory, and administrative issues. Our attorneys provide clients with tested strategic advice and counsel in dealing with elected officials and federal, state, and local government authorities. We have broad experience managing the sometimes challenging relationship between government and business, including client representation in matters involving environmental, energy, mining, public land, regulated utility, and water law and policy. Our team advocates the interests of our clients before federal, state, and local legislative and administrative bodies by providing information, analysis, and opinion to public officials to positively influence the outcome of the decision. Our network of resources have assisted businesses, trade associations and public policy coalitions navigate this complex process with a state capital presence. We draw on extensive experience in financial service, healthcare, energy, tax, and business issues affecting our clients and are uniquely positioned and qualified to assist clients in navigating the political processes and law in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming. We utilize our experience and many valued governmental relationships, founded on mutual respect and integrity, provide insight and access crucial to client success.
Lobbying
Lobbying involves the advocacy of an interest affected by decisions of governmental leaders. The practice of lobbying is considered so essential to the proper functioning of federal and state government that it is specifically protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution – “Congress shall make no law… abridging… the right of the people peaceably… to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Our Lobbying practice group advocates the interests of our clients before federal, state and local legislative and administrative bodies by providing information, analysis, and opinion to public officials in order to positively influence the outcome of the decision.
The firm’s lobbying team has decades of experience in lobbying for clients in the sectors of energy and natural resources, financial services, telecommunications, health care, insurance, retail, nonprofit and tourism. The idea that it takes multiple legislative sessions to pass major legislation in Montana holds true in some cases, but through early and ongoing planning and communication oftentimes one session wins occur. The Crowley Fleck team has excelled in opposing legislation, monitoring legislation and passing legislation. The firm has wide support for legislative efforts and routinely draws in lawyers with single area expertise to draft targeted legislation for client needs that correspond with future and current litigation. This expertise has assisted clients in managing concerns on the legal/ litigation front and parallel tracking public policy objectives with legislative solutions. This ability to build a plan with litigation and public policy in mind simultaneously is a unique combination that Crowley Fleck lawyer-lobbyists can offer and that many other advocacy focused services cannot.
We work diligently to pursue all paths of supporting client issues in government affairs and the involvement of grassroots and grass tops lobbying activities have been effective in positive resolution of issues on a state, local and federal level. The team at Crowley Fleck has effectively used grass tops methods to identify high level individuals or associations or businesses who have influence and a valued voice to a policymaker. These individuals can voice issues for clients in a way that is valued- based on who is delivering the message. Grassroots methods are evaluated by the Crowley Fleck team on a client basis to get a message to policy makers from people who are the “local” voice to an issue and vote in the policy makers’ district. Both grass tops and grassroots campaigns have been effectively run by the Crowley Fleck team at both the federal and state level.
Regulatory and Administrative Affairs
Our Regulatory and Administrative Affairs practice group includes a diversified team of professionals who provide our clients with crucial services in their dealings with federal, state, and local government bodies, agencies and commissions. We draw on our extensive history representing clients in a variety of matters, including highly specialized areas such as healthcare, environmental, public lands, energy, water, utility regulation, liquor licensing, and telecommunications law. We work closely with our litigators and business lawyers in order to ensure governmental affairs activities undertaken on behalf of our clients are consistent with their general business goals.
Crowley Fleck attorneys regularly represent clients before governmental bodies, agencies and commissions, including the following:
- State Tax Appeal Board
- State Tax Commissioner
- Department of Revenue
- Public Service Commission
- Department of Transportation
- Transportation Commission
- Division of Banking and Financial Institutions
- Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission
- Various Professional Licensing Boards
- State Auditor
- Unemployment Insurance Division
- Human Rights Bureau and Commission
- Department of Labor (including Occupational Safety Review Commission)
- Board of Labor Appeals
- Board of Oil and Gas Conservation
- Department of Environmental Quality
- Public Employees Retirement System
- Office of Consumer Protection (DOJ)
- Department of Natural Resources and Conservation
- Industrial Commission – Oil and Gas Division
- Bureau of Land Management/Interior Board of Land Appeals
- Minerals Management Service
- Board of Minerals and Environment
- Various Local Government Commissions and Boards
- Healthcare (including the Board of Medical Examiners, the Board of Dentistry, and other healthcare related boards)
The value of our team’s connections with the above listed governmental bodies, agencies and commissions helps our clients in protecting their interests through proactive determinations or commenting on matters that could impact a client in a number of ways; i.e. positively, adversely, or otherwise.
