Our lawyers provide individuals and entities with sound, sensitive legal advice throughout the full life cycle of a campaign—from the exploration phase to election night and beyond.
Election Law
Shumaker helps clients navigate the nuances of election law at all levels, from local ballot referendums to statewide candidate races. We advise new and experienced candidates alike on raising funds, spending funds, advertising rules and language, yard signs, vote counting procedures, recounts, and filing and interacting with the Division of Elections, among other issues. Our team has experienced the pressures of political campaigning firsthand and we are committed to providing reliable counsel that minimizes stress and supports our clients’ call to serve.
Our Clients
- Candidates
- Political professionals
- Campaign entities
Our Services
- Political advertising and communication compliance
- Interaction with the Division of Elections
- Fundraising and campaign finance compliance
- Recount navigation
Political Law
The laws, ethics rules, and disclosure requirements governing lobbying, advocacy, and political engagement at the state and federal levels can be complex, and are not well understood by most individuals interested in engaging with government and elected officials. Given enhanced public scrutiny and the current enforcement environment, it can be a veritable minefield of overlapping laws, rules, and regulations where common sense and good judgment alone aren’t sufficient. At the same time, political and policy engagement are more important than ever, as decisions made in Washington, D.C. (D.C.) and in state capitals across the country are of growing importance to our daily lives and business bottom lines. Thus, it is more important than ever to engage, but also to have knowledgeable legal support at your side as you do so, providing you and your team with the proactive advice and best practices necessary to ensure your advocacy and political activities are “by the book.”
Specifically, we can provide guidance and advice regarding lobbying disclosure laws and government ethics rules to ensure your advocacy efforts, whether new or through an in-house government affairs team, are legally and ethically compliant. For clients looking to increase their political activity, we can help you establish and grow a federal political action committee (PAC) or other political committee, provide strategies and guidance on political giving, and assist with applicable campaign finance and disclosure requirements. We can also help candidates and campaign committees understand federal campaign finance laws and requirements, and navigate the ethics and disclosure laws in preparation for service in Congress. Through our partnership with a well-known campaign finance and consulting firm outside of D.C., we offer assistance with “back office” administrative work and filing for corporate PACs and other political committees.
Our Clients
- Candidates and campaigns
- Corporations and nonprofits
- Major donors
Our Services
- Advice and training for clients on government advocacy and engagement, including congressional and government ethics rules relating to gifts, lobbying, conflicts of interest, and other issues
- Advice on political giving, campaign finance, and political best practices
- Advice on establishing PACs, PAC governance, and Federal Election Commission (FEC) compliance
- Advice and guidance for (c)(3)s and (c)(4)s regarding limits on political activity and lobbying
- Help for congressional candidates and campaigns on financial disclosure requirements, separation of campaign and official matters, and other ethics issues
- Assistance with federal lobbying registration and disclosure requirements