Civil Regulatory & Administrative Advocacy

Agencies write the rule, investigate the violation, prosecute the case, and decide the outcome. Effective administrative practice means understanding that the record you build inside that system is the only record a court will ever see.

We represent clients across the administrative state — in licensing and permitting, civil investigative demands, administrative enforcement actions, agency adjudications, debarment and exclusion proceedings, grant and funding disputes, and the judicial review that follows when an agency gets it wrong.

The through-line is the administrative record. Under the Administrative Procedure Act, a reviewing court generally evaluates agency action on the record the agency compiled, under a deferential standard. That means arguments not raised at the agency are typically waived, evidence not submitted is typically excluded, and a client who treats the administrative phase as a formality has usually lost the appeal before filing it. We build the record from the first response letter forward.

Our matters include Freedom of Information Act and Privacy Act litigation, civil rights and constitutional claims against government actors, disputes over federal grants and cooperative agreements, professional and occupational licensing defense, exclusion and program-integrity proceedings, state attorney general investigations and civil investigative demands, and the growing category of cases in which a federal agency changes a policy and clients need either to challenge the change or to defend it.

We litigate these matters in the federal district courts and courts of appeals, and we handle them administratively where that is the better path. The choice between the two is a strategic judgment about timing, exhaustion, standing, and the client's tolerance for a public record — and it is a judgment we make deliberately, not by default.

What we handle

• Agency investigations and civil investigative demands
• Administrative enforcement defense and hearings
• Licensing, permitting, and certification matters
• Exclusion, debarment, and program-integrity proceedings
• Grant, cooperative agreement, and funding disputes
• FOIA and Privacy Act requests and litigation
• Administrative Procedure Act challenges to agency action
• Constitutional and civil rights claims against government actors
• State attorney general investigations
• Judicial review in the district courts and courts of appeals

Who we represent

• Regulated businesses and licensed professionals
• Federal grantees and program participants
• Health care providers and suppliers
• Nonprofits and institutions facing agency action
• Individuals denied benefits, clearances, or credentials
• Employers and industry groups challenging new rules