LAW 375 - Advocacy Regulation

This course will introduce students to the multi-tiered and often contradictory ethics rules governing those who lobby government officials at the federal, state and local levels. The course aims to expose students to the various lobbyist registration, licensing, and reporting requirements (including HLOGA, FARA, and selected state and local requirements) in order to give students a broad survey of the differing regimes applicable to the industry. A primary focus will be on the types of conduct prohibited for lobbyists (and the government officials with whom they deal) and the policy choices and implications feeding, and stemming from, those ethics regulations. Students should emerge from this course with an understanding of the rules governing lobbyists at all levels of government, as well as a comprehension of the challenges inherent in the American system of government in creating and enforcing a uniform set of standards. Students will be asked to examine not only the legal requirements but also real-life scenarios faced by lobbyists and ethics regulators, and to consider the policy implications behind the decisions those actors make. Grading: 10-12 pp paper.