At GRSM, we recognize the power of federal, state, and local governments to impact clients’ business operations. Regulation, investigations, and complicated overlap between agencies, government enforcement actions, and private litigation can all foreclose opportunities and threaten an organization’s vitality.
Our Government lawyers are skilled at navigating complex government regulation and enforcement matters. We are focused on resolution. We have extensive experience with crisis management and with implementing strategies to anticipate and address potential government issues before they can develop into more challenging problems. We bring an insider’s perspective deriving from a variety of past government experience including with the Department of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, attorneys general offices, and a variety of state regulators and state executive branch offices. We have a depth of experience across several disciplines and practice groups that bear on government practice including:
- Administrative Law
- Antitrust
- Appellate
- Aviation
- Banking
- Business Transactions
- Cannabis, Hemp & CBD
- Class Actions
- Commodities
- Constitutional Law
- Consumer Protection Litigation
- Cyber, Privacy & Data Security
- Drug & Medical Device
- Energy
- Environmental Law, including land use planning and review and Toxic Tort
- ERISA
- Health Care
- Insurance
- Intellectual Property and Patent
- Government Contracting
- Maritime
- Privacy, Data & Cybersecurity
- Securities Litigation and Regulation
- Trucking & Transportation
- White Collar Criminal Defense
We establish clear communication with federal and state agencies at the outset. We understand the government perspective underlying civil and criminal investigative demands, efficiently marshal responses to government agencies, and leverage the breadth of our collective litigation and transactional experience to achieve client objectives and protect business interests.
Representative Experience
- Represented the owners of the largest private water and waste-water utility in Arizona, along with various related trusts and business entities, in defense of a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of all customers seeking to reclaim rates paid as the result of an alleged fraudulently obtained rate increase from the Arizona Corporation Commission.
- Represented a multi-billion dollar US based transportation company on the applicability of the GDPR to its operations.
- Representation of two multi-million dollar US based not for profit organizations and an online retailer with respect to GDPR compliance.
- Represented healthcare facilities in government investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (OIG) and other state fraud units, such as the Colorado Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU).
- Assisted ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in appealing to an administrative forum overpayment demands made by a Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC).
- Represent nonprofit entities in high stakes human trafficking and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act litigation brought by private litigants.
- Assist securities, commodities and insurance industry participants with necessary federal and state registration filings, both initial submissions and annual renewals, as well as responding to examinations by federal and state agencies (both periodic and initiated by customer complaints) such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Commodity Futures Trading Commission, FINRA and NFA, and state regulators.
- Counsel securities, commodities and insurance industry participants who have received Wells Notices and who are otherwise being investigated by the SEC, the Department of Justice, or FINRA.
- Represent securities underwriters and placement agents with appropriate corporate finance filings and disclosure for public and private offerings, as well as registration exemption filings with federal and state agencies.
- Represented a professional services provider and professional management company in defense of a $75 million claim by the Arizona Corporation Commission that they are affiliates of a Class A utility and thus the operating contract is void for failure to obtain prior approval.
- Advise insurance companies with respect to evolving state regulations and filings required to conduct business in all states.
- Prevented a governmental agency from forcing the disgorgement of more than $90 million in revenues paid by a regulated company to his clients by demonstrating that, as a matter of law, the regulations relied on did not apply to these companies.
- Reversed a $400,000 Department of Homeland Security Administrative Law Judge ruling against the firm's client on appeal to the Ninth Circuit arising from an illegal Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the client’s restaurants. The client walked away with a $100,000 attorney fee payment to the client by the government in full resolution of the case.
- Negotiated a felony neglect charge of a long-term care professional to a petty offense plea.
- Reduced compliance burden and exposure of nationwide client operations in a state audit via early communication with the regulator in order to narrow the scope of records requested.
- Resolved state and federal grand jury investigations via frequent communications with prosecutors and proactive attention to employee legal interests.
- Successfully negotiated a nominal settlement payment in response to a $3+ Billion claim brought by the Michigan Attorney General against a textile recycling client accused of falsely soliciting clothing donations on behalf of a local charity.