Measured by numbers of full time lobbyists and persons involved, the top law firms with public policy capabilities in Brussels are (in alphabetical order): Bird&Bird, Covington, DLA Piper, Freshfields, Norton Rose Fullbright and Squire Patton Boggs.
Other prominent law firms with lobbying capabilities include: Alber & Geiger, Gide, K&L Gates, Keller and Heckman, Linklaters, Mayer Brown, Latham & Watkins and Steptoe.
Interestingly some of the largest US law firms in Brussels (e.g. Cleary Gottlieb with 90 lawyers here) lack any dedicated lobbyists. As discussed elsewhere, a number of law firms are not on the transparency register despite having lobbying capabilities, including prominent firms Sidley Austin and White & Case.
DLA Piper’s International Government Affairs team provides advice at all stages of the regulatory process. Advising on regulatory law, they focus on managing risk for clients in sustainability and trade, antitrust and competition, sanctions compliance and global supply chain resilience.
“DLA Piper takes a cross-disciplinary approach as the path to success is almost always a combination of policy and legal strategy. This means we carefully coordinate efforts in different forums. Our lawyers and policy professionals benefit tremendously from our global platform: we often work across borders and practice groups in very diverse teams, ensuring the most efficient and effective results for our clients.” Richard Sterneberg, Partner, Head of Global Government Relations, DLA Piper.
Freshfields offers clients strategic and integrated policy advice. They cover a broad range of business sectors, including financial services, sustainability, digital, energy, environment, tax, competition and consumer.
“Our Regulatory and Public Affairs teams based in key jurisdictions work hand in hand with legal experts across our global network providing clients with unrivalled access to policy and sector-specific industry knowledge, supporting them in anticipating and managing their regulatory risk and environment. We see ourselves as their trusted advisers who can bring into focus the interplay between law, politics and business to address critical commercial challenges. Complex cross-border work is what we excel at – bringing together expertise and knowhow across multiple teams in one coherent and seamless offering.” Natalie Pettinger Kearney, Head of EU Regulatory & Public Affairs at Freshfields.
Law Firms
Covington helps clients worldwide achieve critical business objectives by combining legal, political, and policy expertise to provide strategic advice and advocacy. Covington highlights the connections and experience of its senior staff.
Described as ‘well connected with both the regulators and thought-leaders,’ by Chambers and Partners, Covington’s USP is the sheer number of former senior diplomats in our midst, on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as in Asia and Africa. What clients value most is the combination of law and policy that they are able to offer. Having a team that can analyse a regulatory issue from a legal as well as a policy perspective and then draft and propose amendments in a compelling way is seen as a real benefit.
Bird & Bird’s public affairs team say you can rely on them to be your early warning system about forthcoming legislation, in addition to organising strategic engagement with decision-makers and helping your company to prepare for compliance with incoming laws.
“Regulatory complexity is near the top of the list of challenges facing businesses today. Companies are grappling with the huge wave of regulation that has emerged in recent years. Our integrated team of public affairs professionals and lawyers work together to detangle this web of new rules and obligations to find practical solutions. For companies concerned about how these various strands of legislation interact together, we offer simple, pragmatic support. Our team also acts as an early warning system to ensure that clients are not surprised by new proposals in the pipeline that will impact their business model. We help companies and organisations to engage constructively with legislators before any new laws are adopted.” Francine Cunningham, Director of Regulatory & Public Affairs at Bird & Bird.
Norton Rose Fulbright underlines its practical approach to lobbying backed by technical legal skills: “Having both deep expertise in the law and regulation, as well as practitioners understanding of policy and decision-making processes enables us to provide comprehensive support to clients that work commercially and legally. That is a rare combination which we believe adds real value to our clients.”
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