The Lobby Bar: a Political Law Podcast | Welcome to the Lobby Bar: Battleground 2025 – Navigating Pay-to-Play Laws
[Podcast] Top 5 Takeaways from New Jersey’s 2023 Pay-to-Play Reform
Pay to Play Risk is High due to New Jersey 2021 Elections: Reduce your risk now!
Venture Capital Trends: East Meets West – Lewis Geffen, Co-chair, Venture Capital Practice
Cooley handled 221 reported venture capital financings in Q4 2025, representing $8.9 billion of invested capital. In Q4, deal volume decreased slightly across Series Seed, B, D and higher rounds, while Series C deal volume...more
As we enter a new election year, we thought it would be helpful to point out some notable trends and developments in political engagement and their impact on political law risks. Below are some, but not all, of those trends....more
In recent years, governments have been playing more pivotal roles in regulating industries and emerging technologies, and selecting companies for large contracts and public-private partnerships....more
On capital concentrating in fewer, later‑stage ‘category winners’: The surge in invested capital in Series D rounds and beyond even as deal counts fell is clearly attributable to the growth in artificial intelligence-related...more
Cooley handled 217 reported venture capital financings in Q3 2025, representing $23 billion of invested capital. Deal volume decreased slightly since last quarter. In Q3, deal volume decreased across Series Seed, A and C...more
In recent weeks, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., announced her campaign for governor of New York and Congressman Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., announced for governor of California, joining several federal officials already...more
On November 10, 2025, the Maryland State Board of Elections (SBE) is expected to launch an updated version of its Business Contribution Disclosure System, where persons doing public business in Maryland (pay-to-play filers)...more
As the end of the year approaches, businesses with government contracts should review political contribution reporting obligations under state and local pay-to-play laws. Contribution disclosures for government contractors...more
We are excited to present Skadden’s new political law podcast “The Lobby Bar,” hosted by partners Charlie Ricciardelli and Tyler Rosen. In the debut episode, they break down the complexities of pay-to-play laws in New Jersey,...more
RECENT LOBBYING, ETHICS & CAMPAIGN FINANCE UPDATES - Campaign Finance & Lobbying Compliance California: Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1167, a bill prohibiting California utilities from charging customers for lobbying and...more
Startup financing is a dynamic process, and down rounds have emerged as a critical mechanism for companies navigating challenging economic climates. These down rounds are characterized by a reduction in company valuation and...more
Our second quarter 2025 corporate venture capital (CVC) survey indicators continue to show challenging market conditions. However, valuations are on the rise in surveyed transactions. In this survey, we track investment...more
If your startup continues to follow the proverbial “hockey stick” of uninterrupted, exponential growth that you presented in your seed round pitch deck, you might always have easy access to capital and never encounter a...more
Cooley handled 238 reported venture capital financings in Q2 2025, representing $6.5 billion of invested capital. Deal count increased by more than 20% across all stages of financing compared to the previous quarter, with...more
The next quarterly update required under the Illinois pay-to-play law is due August 14, 2025. As described in earlier mailings, Illinois law requires many companies with aggregate state bids, proposals and contracts totaling...more
In yet another sweeping move impacting college athletics, President Trump just signed an Executive Order seeking to ban “third-party, pay-for-play payments to collegiate athletes,” while still allowing athletes to enter into...more
Today, the Missouri House of Representatives passed House Bill 575, which contains two new provisions applicable to statewide initiative petition circulators....more
The annual filing for state and local contractors required under New Jersey Chapter 271 (Form BE) is due March 31, 2025. As we have described in previous client alerts, this report must be filed by a business entity if it...more
Businesses that received at least $50,000 in revenue during the 2024 calendar year through New Jersey government contracts must file an Annual Business Entity Disclosure report with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement...more
Under SB 1243, attorneys, architects, engineers, planners, political consultants, and other “agents” are absolutely barred from making political contributions to elected and appointed officials while a decision is pending and...more
The following summarizes periodic pay-to-play reporting requirements under laws in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Rhode Island. Certain companies must file reports regarding their business...more
As published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has followed the statutory dictates and raised the federal individual contribution limits to account for inflation. The new...more
On January 8, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a decision and order approving the application of Financial Data Exchange, Inc. (FDX) for recognition as a standard-setting body (SSB) under the...more
Morrison Foerster partners Kate Driscoll and Nate Mendell, both former federal prosecutors and members of the firm’s Investigations + White Collar Defense Group, hosted the seventh episode of When Your Life Sciences Are on...more