Congressional Investigations

With decades of experience in guiding U.S. and multinational companies in nearly every industry during some of their toughest challenges, Holland & Knight's Congressional Investigations Team assists clients with risk management and liability mitigation communication strategy, message development, media relations and reputation protection during high-profile congressional and government investigations. Congressional investigations require counsel with a unique combination of skills: political awareness, knowledge of congressional rules and practice, white collar experience, crisis management and public relations. At Holland & Knight, our lawyers and senior advisors assist our clients in responding effectively and efficiently to congressional inquiries while also protecting their legal rights and reputations. In many cases, congressional investigations are closely related to U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Federal Election Commission or Inspector General investigations, and our team is particularly qualified to represent clients under these circumstances.

During the 116th and 117th Congresses, Holland & Knight's Congressional Investigations Team counseled clients across numerous industries during inquiries related to the COVID-19 pandemic and federal programs created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) and other legislation.

Extensive Capitol Hill Experience

Our attorneys and other professionals have worked extensively on Capitol Hill, including as former members of Congress and senior oversight staff, as well as during the representation of clients in congressional investigations and a variety of other contexts. Attorneys in Holland & Knight's White Collar Defense and Investigations and Compliance Services practices also have experience with congressional investigations and regularly assist clients in related dealings with the DOJ, agency debarment officials and federal investigative agencies.

Holland & Knight lawyers and professionals have represented leading defense contractors, Fortune 500 companies and high-profile individuals, including:

• numerous recipients of CARES Act funding during investigations by the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis
• a defense contractor during a House Office of Congressional Ethics investigation
• an individual during a dual-track inquiry by the DOJ's Public Integrity Section and the Senate Ethics Committee
• a defense contractor during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs inquiry
• a financial sector client during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing
• an automotive industry client during a House Energy and Commerce investigation
• a chemical manufacturer during a House Energy and Commerce hearing
• a trade association during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee investigation
• a private equity investment firm and federal contractors in connection to an investigation by the House Oversight and Reform Committee
• a pharmacy benefit management organization in connection to drug pricing inquiries and hearings by the House Energy and Commerce and Senate Finance Committees
• a multinational construction company and federal contractor called before the Senate and House Armed Services Committees
• an investment firm in a Senate Finance Committee investigation related to tax deductions
• a global health services organization in connection to a House Energy and Commerce and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee investigation on medical billing
• a global tobacco company and a subsidiary manufacturer of e-cigarettes in relation to an investigative hearing by the House Energy and Commerce Committee
• current and former government officials investigated or called before House and Senate committees

Effective Communications When You Need It Most

Not having to vet legal, government affairs and crisis communications teams when you are dealing with the onset of a crisis can be critical. We work closely with Holland & Knight's High-Stakes Communications Team and begin working on Day One to meet our clients' legal and reputation protection objectives and mitigate additional liability around the globe. Our seasoned communication and media strategists can either lead or assist you in tailoring effective messaging, identifying and preparing experts for testimony, handling interaction with high-profile media, and determining how to best manage social and other media.

Our High-Stakes Communications Team includes highly experienced attorneys as well as public affairs, crisis management, public relations and high-profile media relations strategists and operatives. We offer a multidisciplinary approach to initiatives that include risk management and reputation protection. Our practice concentrates on complex matters involving sensitive public relations issues in the United States and around the globe. Our clients include some of the world's most successful corporations, organizations and high-profile individuals.

Our team offers experience that other PR teams do not, including decades of daily interaction with organizational leadership and their legal and regulatory teams while coordinating closely on communications efforts. Holland & Knight utilizes an efficient and integrated approach so that communications and legal efforts are complementary. This type of early collaboration results in messaging that is consistent with legal, regulatory and policy objectives and that helps prevent embarrassment or damaged relationships with key journalists and news outlets

In preparation for high-profile congressional testimony, the communication advisors on Holland & Knight's Risk and Crisis Management Team designed and managed a worldwide crisis PR strategy for a data security company that experienced a massive data breach and whose clients included Interpol, the CIA, National Security Agency (NSA), several nations and many Fortune 100 corporations.

In addition, in the midst of multiple governments' investigations, our Risk and Crisis Management Team developed and implemented a successful communications and reputation protection initiative for a major specialty chemicals and fluoropolymers manufacturer in the aftermath of a European disaster that involved fatalities and resulted in U.S. regulatory investigations and the emergence of significant market competition.