News Archive

Josh Rosenstein Quoted on Manafort’s Indictment and FARA

Joshua Rosenstein shares his opinions of the Manafort indictment and its relation to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in Vice News. On the topic, he shares:

“This is sort of like a FARA lawyer’s dream and nightmare,” said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, partner at Sandler Reiff, a Washington, D.C.-based political law firm specializing in the regulation of advocacy. “Even though criminal prosecutions are extraordinary, I have never seen an indictment that relies so heavily on FARA.”

You can read more of Josh Rosenstein’s thoughts on FARA, Manafort’s Indictment, and Sen. Grassley’s bill to reform FARA at the following links:

The American Prospect

Vice

Voice of America

Washington Examiner

 

Josh Rosenstein Discusses FARA and Manafort in Talking Points

In a Talking Points article, “The Vise is Tightening on Paul Manafort, The Mueller Probe’s Linchpin,” Rosenstein discusses the possibility of a prosecution of Paul Manafort under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Josh Rosenstein, an attorney at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock who specializes in FARA, said that although prosecutions under the act are quite rare, it is a “distinct possibility” that Mueller’s team could pursue one against Manafort.

“When FARA becomes a high profile issue as certainly it has been here in and of itself, the risk of prosecution is certainly much higher,” Rosenstein said, noting that FARA charges would likely be brought as a secondary charge to any potential financial crimes.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Sandler Reiff Successfully Challenges the FAA on behalf of FlyersRights.org

Sandler Reiff successfully challenged the Federal Aviation Administration’s (“FAA”) denial of a rulemaking petition on behalf of FlyersRights.org.  FlyersRights.org petitioned the FAA to promulgate rules governing plane seat size and pitch limitations to ensure that passengers can safely and quickly evacuate a plane in an emergency. “This is the Case of the Incredible Shrinking Airline Seat,” Judge Patricia Ann Millett wrote on behalf of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia three-judge panel. The Court unanimously agreed that the FAA failed to provide a plausible evidentiary basis for its denial of FlyersRights.org’s rulemaking petition and remanded the case to the FAA.

 

FlyersRights,org is represented by Joseph E. Sandler and Dara Lindenbaum.

Additional information on the case is available here and here.

The case is Flyers Rights Education Fund, Inc. et al v. Federal Aviation Administration, et al. Opinion available here.

 

Joshua Rosenstein Quoted in The Hill on Trump’s New Lobbying Proposal

In The Hill’s article “Lobbyists Adjust to Trump’s New Rules,” Joshua Rosenstein discusses Trump’s new proposals and how they will affect lobbyists in Washington.

“While it’s weaker, it’s not just lip service. It does make actual reforms,” said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, specializing in political law and lobbying compliance. “Of course, it’s different than what Trump promised, which is that you won’t be a lobbyist [for five years] — period.” 

You can read the full article here.

Joshua Rosenstein quoted in The Hill on FARA and Paul Manafort

In The Hill’s article “Primer: What you need to know about Paul Manafort”, Josh Rosenstein explores how the DOJ may want to consider a prosecution of Paul Manafort under FARA.

“Given the larger investigation into Russian meddling, this may actually be one of those rare instances where DOJ might want to consider a prosecution under FARA if they have the evidence,” said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock focused on lobbying compliance.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Joshua Rosenstein Quoted in The Hill on Trump’s New Lobbying Proposal

In The Hill’s article “Lobbyists Adjust to Trump’s New Rules,” Joshua Rosenstein discusses Trump’s new proposals and how they will affect lobbyists in Washington.

“While it’s weaker, it’s not just lip service. It does make actual reforms,” said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, a partner at Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, specializing in political law and lobbying compliance. “Of course, it’s different than what Trump promised, which is that you won’t be a lobbyist [for five years] — period.” 

You can read the full article here.

Sandler Reiff Ranked 2nd in U.S. News Report Among Best Law Firms in DC

U.S. News Report has named Sandler, Reiff, Lamb, Rosenstein & Birkenstock P.C. among the best law firms in DC, ranking the firm second in administrative/regulatory law and government relations practice.

According to U.S. News Report, “Firms included in the 2017 Best Law Firms list are recognized for professional excellence with persistently impressive ratings from clients and peers. Achieving a tiered ranking signals a unique combination of quality law practice and breadth of legal expertise.”

U.S. News Report’s 2017 rankings are based on over 800,000 law firm assessments and over 90,000 client evaluations. Further, a firm must have a lawyer listed in The Best Lawyers in America.

You can read more about the rankings here:

http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/

http://bestlawfirms.usnews.com/profile/sandler-reiff-lamb-rosenstein-birkenstock-p-c/rankings/40225

http://www.usnews.com/info/blogs/press-room/articles/2016-11-01/us-news-best-lawyers-releases-2017-best-law-firms-list

Joshua Rosenstein Quoted in BNA on New Wage and Overtime Rules

In BNA’s article, “Win or Lose, Campaign Staffers Usually Unemployed After Election,” Josh Rosenstein discusses the effects of the new wage and overtime rules on campaign staffers and political organizations.

“Campaigns are, like most other employers, faced with Fair Labor Standards Act compliance issues, and they tend to spend a lot of time ensuring labor laws are understood and adhered to, said Joshua Ian Rosenstein of Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock P.C. in Washington.

‘There is a very complicated interplay between federal regulations and what may be in place for state law,’ Rosenstein said.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

Josh Rosenstein Quoted in CQ Roll Call on Trump’s Lobbyist Proposal

On Wednesday, the Trump transition team announced its position on lobbyists in the administration. The team said that it would allow lobbyists to join the administration, as long as they de-registered their clients, but prohibits its officials from lobbying for five years after they leave the administration. Josh Rosenstein discusses these regulations further in CQ Roll Call’s article, “Trump Ban Could Drive More Lobbying Into Shadows.”

“If the Trump administration’s restrictions are aimed at congressional and state lobbying on matters unrelated to ex-officials’ executive branch policy issues, then the Trump proposal could run afoul of the First Amendment, said Joshua Ian Rosenstein, a lobbying and ethics lawyer with Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock.  “Does the president have the ability to enforce this contract — to prohibit someone from lobbying Congress on unrelated matters? Does the government have the ability to do the same thing, infringe on people’s First Amendment rights to lobby on unrelated matters, with state and local governments? I don’t think they do,” Rosenstein said. He added that the shift could result in more lobbyists hiding their clients and their work from the public view of disclosure laws — a phenomenon that increased during the Obama presidency.  The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, for example, looked at lobbyists who were registered in 2011 but were not registered in 2012. It found that more than 46 percent of those who had de-registered were still working for their same employers, “suggesting that many have simply avoided the reporting limits while still contributing to lobbying efforts,” the group said.  “It may drive a number of individuals who have thus far been complying with the law into the realm of shadow advocacy, which causes a whole other set of ethics issues,” Rosenstein said.”

You can read the rest of the article here.