Meet the Big Law Partners Advising Political Appointees

Political Law Team Co-Leader Charles Borden and Tax attorney Robert Rizzi were recently quoted in a National Law Journal article on their experience advising political appointees. The article discussed how this work often requires multidisciplinary teams, drawing from various practice areas such as tax, national security, securities regulation and former White House counsel. The attorneys highlighted how a comprehensive approach not only provides thorough guidance but also generates significant legal work for firms with the necessary knowledge and experience.

"It's a practice which involves helping these individuals who have been very successful in the private sector and navigate the process of going into government, serving government and coming out of government," said Mr. Borden. "There are a whole host of ethics rules and financial disclosure rules and conflict of interest rules that they are subject to as part of that process."

Mr. Rizzi explained that client referrals for political appointee advisory services often come through personal recommendations and professional networking.

"It's a word-of-mouth practice, because a lot of the people that we deal with as clients have never served in the government before, never served as presidential appointees, and so they haven't really encountered the full extent of these requirements," he said. "And so when they get contacted by the transition, or if there's an ongoing administration by the chief of staff or the Presidential Personnel Office, then hopefully they'll say, 'I would like to have my own lawyer take a look at this' and then one way or another, they'll find their way to us."

READ: Meet the Big Law Partners Advising Political Appointees (Subscription required)