After a hiatus, ads that refer to federal candidates but that stop short of calling for their election or defeat may soon be returning to the airwaves. Only two business days after oral argument, a three-judge D.C. Circuit panel today unanimously reversed a lower court decision that required issue advocacy groups that paid for an “electioneering communication” to disclose all of their donors since January of last year. An “electioneering communication” is a broadcast ad that refers to a clearly identified federal candidate and that airs shortly before an election where the candidate is running. Electioneering communications do not contain the usual appeals to vote for or against specific candidates that campaign ads do. For a variety of reasons, these ads are sometimes preferred over express advocacy ads, particularly by tax-exempt organizations. The opinion comes despite a different D.C. Circuit panel earlier deciding not to stay enforcement of the lower court decision.
Continue Reading Reversing Van Hollen, D.C. Circuit Removes Important Legal Barrier to Television and Radio Political Ads
Zachary G. Parks
Zachary Parks advises corporations, trade associations, campaigns, and high-net worth individuals on their most important and challenging political law problems.
Chambers USA describes Zachary as “highly regarded by his clients in the political law arena,” noting that clients praised him as their “go-to outside attorney for election law, campaign finance, pay-to-play and PAC issues.” Zachary is also a leading lawyer in the emerging corporate political disclosure field, regularly advising corporations on these issues.
Zachary's expertise includes the Federal Election Campaign Act, the Lobbying Disclosure Act, the Ethics in Government Act, the Foreign Agents Registration Act, and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play rules. He has also helped clients comply with the election and political laws of all 50 states. Zachary also frequently leads political law due diligence for investment firms and corporations during mergers and acquisitions.
He routinely advises corporations and corporate executives on instituting political law compliance programs and conducts compliance training for senior corporate executives and lobbyists. He also has extensive experience conducting corporate internal investigations concerning campaign finance and lobbying law compliance and has defended his political law clients in investigations by the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, Congressional committees, and in litigation.
Zachary is also the founder and chair of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society’s Political and Election Law Section.
Zachary also has extensive complex litigation experience, having litigated major environmental claims, class actions, and multi-district proceedings for financial institutions, corporations, and public entities.
From 2005 to 2006, Zachary was a law clerk for Judge Thomas B. Griffith on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.