In this episode of Early Returns, host Jan Baran speaks with Nneka Chiazor, President and CEO of the Public Affairs Council, about the critical role public affairs professionals play in navigating the intersection of...more
In this Early Returns episode, host Jan Baran speaks with the entire current Federal Election Commission, Chair Shana Broussard and Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum, the only two commissioners remaining after four departures left...more
Host Jan Baran welcomes back Josh Gerstein, Senior Legal Affairs Reporter for Politico, for a comprehensive review of the litigation landscape surrounding the Trump administration. They dive into the Supreme Court's...more
Host Jan Baran sits down with Coinbase Chief Policy Officer Faryar Shirzad for an educational and illuminating deep dive into cryptocurrency's intersection with law and politics. Faryar, whose journey from Iranian diplomat's...more
By: Jan Baran and Austin Graham July will be a big, beautiful and busy month for federal lobbyists. Two separate Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) filings are due later this month: quarterly lobbying reports (LD-2) for the second...more
Jan Baran speaks with Artificial Intelligence (AI) legal expert. lawyer and teacher, Oliver Roberts, to speak about AI, its birth, its forms, and how people have historically used and are currently using the ever-changing...more
5/14/2025
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Data Collection ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Law Practice Management ,
Legal Research ,
Legal Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Professional Development ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements
In this episode of Early Returns, Jan Baran speaks with Brody Mullins, co-author of “The Wolves of K Street” and Pulitzer Prize winning Wall Street Journal journalist, about the historical, present and future world of...more
In this episode, Jan Baran speaks with the Vice Chair of the Federal Election Commission (“FEC”), Trey Trainor. Born and raised in Texas, Commissioner Trainor discusses his career, his route to the FEC, the tracking of...more
Attorney General of Virginia and son of an immigrant who fled Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Jason Miyares, has recently announced his campaign for reelection and now talks with Jan Baran about the role of attorney general and the...more
FEC Advisory Opinion Approves Federal Candidate Request to Add Super PAC to Joint Fundraising Committee -
In Advisory Opinion 2024-07, the FEC approved a request made by Team Graham, the principal campaign committee of...more
9/30/2024
/ 501(c)(3) ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Campaign Contributions ,
Campaign Spending Limits ,
Compliance ,
Deep Fake ,
False Statements ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Forgery ,
Fundraisers ,
IRS ,
Misrepresentation ,
Nonprofits ,
PACs ,
Political Advertising ,
Religious Institutions ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS
Eighth Circuit Invalidates Missouri's Two-Year Lobbying Ban for Former Legislators and Staffers -
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a Missouri state constitutional amendment that imposed a two-year lobbying...more
8/28/2024
/ Administrative Proceedings ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Compliance ,
Constitutional Amendment ,
Ethics ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fines ,
Free Speech ,
FTC Act ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ,
Lobbying ,
New Regulations ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Pay-To-Play ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Presidential Elections ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Bans ,
Texas ,
UAW ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Voting Rights
Holtzman Vogel attorneys wrote on the Supreme Court's landmark Loper Bright decision earlier this month. The Court overruled its 1984 decision in Chevron v. NRDC that introduced the so-called "Chevron deference" principle...more
8/2/2024
/ Absentee Voting ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
Advisory Opinions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FCC ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
FinCEN ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
PACs ,
Political Contributions ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Disclosure ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Summary Judgment
A very unusual and historic week of political and legal events just preceded America’s Independence Day. The Supreme Court of the United States ended its term with pivotal decisions, including a number that affect former...more
In this month's In Compliance Round-Up, we cover the following topics:
Supreme Court Holds Federal Anti-Corruption Law Prohibits State and Local Officials from Accepting Bribes, But Not Gratuities -
Ethics Guidance Issued...more
7/2/2024
/ Anti-Corruption ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bribery ,
Compliance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Electronic Voting Machines ,
Ethics ,
FCC ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Global Code of Ethics ,
Influencers ,
Louisiana ,
New Guidance ,
New Rules ,
Political Advertising ,
Presidential Nominations ,
SCOTUS ,
Texas ,
Vermont
At the FEC’s May 1 open meeting, the Commission voted 4-1 to approve an advisory opinion requested by Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom (“NFRF”) that authorizes federal candidates and officeholders to solicit unlimited funds,...more
5/30/2024
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Compliance ,
Deceptive Intent ,
Deep Fake ,
FCC ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Political Advertising ,
Political Candidates ,
Political Contributions ,
Public Disclosure ,
Transparency
Arguing before the Supreme Court increasingly has become a specialty of an elite group of lawyers. A former Scalia judicial law clerk, Kannon Shanmugam has argued 38 cases at the court.
In this episode, Jan speaks with...more
Arguing before the Supreme Court increasingly has become a specialty of an elite group of lawyers. A former Scalia judicial law clerk, Kannon Shanmugam has argued 38 cases at the court.
In this episode of the Early...more
On April 23, the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to adopt a final rule banning noncompete agreements. The FTC defines a "non-compete clause" broadly as a term or condition of employment that prohibits a worker from, or...more
4/30/2024
/ Arizona ,
Campaign Finance Reform ,
Campaign Funds ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Executives ,
Criminal Penalties ,
Employment Contract ,
Enforcement ,
Ethics ,
False Statements ,
Federal Bans ,
Federal Election Campaign Act ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Felonies ,
Final Rules ,
Foreign Agents ,
GAO ,
Lobbying ,
Lobbying Disclosure Act ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Personal Use ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Sarbanes-Oxley
In this episode of Early Returns, Jan Baran speaks with Former Virginia Governor and U.S. Ambassador, Jim Gilmore. They discuss his career in public service, his rise in Republican politics with the popular Virginia car tax...more
On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Lindke v. Freed and a per curiam opinion in O’Connor-Ratcliff v. Garnier addressing when a public official may prevent a person from commenting on the public...more
3/28/2024
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Beneficial Owner ,
Business Entities ,
Campaign Contributions ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Deep Fake ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Election Commission (FEC) ,
Lindke v Freed ,
New Regulations ,
NSBA ,
O’Connor-Ratcliff v Garnier ,
PACs ,
Political Campaigns ,
Reporting Requirements ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Unconstitutional Condition
The FCC issued a Declaratory Ruling on February 8 to ensure that telephone calls that use artificial intelligence (AI) to generate or mimic human voices are treated as “robocalls” for purposes of the Telephone Consumer...more
3/1/2024
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Compliance ,
Declaratory Rulings ,
Deep Fake ,
Democratic National Committee ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
New Legislation ,
Notice of Inquiry ,
Political Campaigns ,
Political Contributions ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Recount Committees ,
Robocalling ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Social Media ,
TCPA ,
Telemarketing ,
Transparency ,
Voting Rights ,
Wisconsin
As with the previous two season kick-offs of Early Returns, we welcome the third season with the newly elected 2024 chair of the Federal Election Commission, Sean Cooksey, who is a republican. The FEC consists of six...more
In this episode of Early Returns, Jan Baran speaks with Bradley Smith, professor at Capital Law School, former Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) Chair, nationally recognized expert on campaign finance and the First...more
By: Jason Torchinsky, Ed Wenger, Jan Baran, Jonathan P. Lienhard, Kent Safriet, and David Brown The Supreme Court wrapped up its decisions from the October 2022 Term, with a blockbuster final week addressing issues like...more
7/11/2023
/ 303 Creative LLC v Elenis ,
Affirmative Action ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
First Amendment ,
Redistricting ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Voting Rights
In this episode, Jan Baran speaks with Jill Holtzman Vogel, the managing partner of Holtzman Vogel and a Virginia State Senator. Jill started her law firm 21 years ago as a sole practitioner specializing in political law. It...more