Administrative Law & Federal Agencies
Administrative agencies play an expansive role in the American economy. Almost daily, major businesses in every industry deal with regulators and regulations. While compliance has never been easy, it has become more uncertain as the Supreme Court and other federal courts have shifted their approach in reviewing agency adjudications and rulemaking after decades of deferential review. More than ever, clients look for counsel who can guide them through complex and shifting standards and position them to achieve desired objectives.
Morgan Lewis’s administrative law and federal agencies practice encompasses lawyers with in-depth, agency-specific knowledge alongside appellate and trial lawyers with broadly applicable Administrative Procedure Act (APA) experience. Our team includes lawyers with firsthand knowledge of agencies’ inner workings, gleaned from their years of agency work, including lawyers confirmed by the US Senate to lead federal agencies. Our practice also includes skilled and seasoned appellate trial lawyers recognized for their courtroom advocacy and the results they bring for clients. Our deep agency knowledge coupled with the strength of our appellate practice means that we understand the complexities and nuances of agency decision-making and, when necessary, effectively argue complex statutory and constitutional matters in court.
Our lawyers have spent their careers advising and representing clients who not only need to deal with urgent crises but also want to develop comprehensive strategies for working with regulators. As a result, we have represented clients—individual companies, coalitions, and major trade associations—at every stage of the administrative process, including:
- Applying for agency permits
- Responding to agency investigations and enforcement proceedings, from preparing responses to making presentations and negotiating with regulators
- Participating in formal and informal adjudications and presenting testimony before agencies
- Drafting comments on proposed rules and filing administrative petitions proposing changes to existing rules
Our experience spans nearly every federal agency, including:
- US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)
- US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
- US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
- US Department of Labor (DOL)
- National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
When the administrative process ends, the judicial process begins. Our agency experts work alongside trial and appellate counsel when clients challenge or defend agency rulings. We challenge agency rules and orders both in district courts pursuant to the APA and in circuit courts, including the DC circuit, on direct review. Our team also intervenes to defend agencies whose actions are under attack. Across all venues, we have experience seeking and opposing stays, preliminary injunctions, and emergency relief.