National Forum on FARA

Registration and Continental Breakfast

Opening Remarks from the Co-Chairs

David H. Laufman
Partner
Wiggin and Dana LLP
(Former Chief, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, National Security Division, U.S. Department of Justice)

Matthew T. Sanderson
Member, Co-Leader of the Political Law Group
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered

The Biggest Misunderstandings about FARA: Revisiting “Foreign Principal,” “Agent,” and Other Key Terms and Definitions

Robert K. Kelner
Partner
Covington & Burling LLP

Daniel B. Pickard
Partner, Co-Chair of the National Security Practice
Wiley Rein LLP

• Defining an agent and a foreign principal: How you can become an agent of a foreign principal
• Critical takeaways from the most significant advisory opinions in recent memory
• What is a covered activity and who needs to register?
• The purpose of a letter of inquiry and inspection?
• What constitutes a FARA violation? How has the risk expanded?
• Re-assessing penalty risks for FARA violations: In what cases do criminal penalties, including jail time apply? Civil penalties?

What Can Now Trigger a Deficiency Notice: A Rundown of Pitfalls to Avoid When Filling Out Registration Forms and Subsequent Disclosures

Nicholas J. Lewin
Partner
Krieger Kim & Lewin LLP

Melissa L. Laurenza
Partner
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

• Types of information that needs to be disclosed
• Are deficiency notices on the rise?
• Where to file? Common mistakes at the filing stage
• Concrete examples of what constitutes insufficient information for the purposes of FARA filings
• Special considerations for subsequent disclosures

Morning Coffee Break

DOJ KEYNOTE ADDRESS AND AUDIENCE Q & A

The Rise of FARA Enforcement: Key Updates and Priorities

FACT AND FICTION OF EXEMPTIONS: LDA AND COMMERCIAL

Part I: Revisiting the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) Exemption: How Practitioners are Now Interpreting Its Scope of Application

Steven A. Cash
Counsel
Day Pitney LLP

David H. Laufman
Partner
Wiggin and Dana LLP
(Former Chief, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, National Security Division, U.S. Department of Justice)

• Performing due diligence on your client to determine if FARA registration would be warranted
• What is now required for due diligence of a client
• Who should (and should not) use this exemption
• When (and when not) to use it
• How far does the safe harbor extend? Lessons from recent enforcement actions
• Clarifying when to register under FARA vs. the LDA exemption
• Current status of the congressional drive to eliminate LDA

Networking Luncheon

FACT AND FICTION OF EXEMPTIONS: LDA AND COMMERCIAL

Part II: The Biggest Misunderstandings About the Commercial Exemption

Amy Jeffress
Partner
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP

Kate Sawyer Keane
Partner, Political Law Group
Perkins Coie LLP

• What are the parameters of this exemption? The biggest misconceptions
• Clarifying the term “purely commercial activity not in support of a foreign government”
• At what point is an entity considered as working for a foreign government?

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

The New Reality of FARA Enforcement for Lawyers, Lobbyists, Consultants and PR Firms: What DOJ’s New Priorities Mean for Your Risk Calculus and Exposure

Brian J. Fleming
Member
Miller & Chevalier Chartered

Richard S. Levick
Chairman & CEO
LEVICK

Paul A. Miller
President
National Institute For Lobbying & Ethics

• Increasing risk exposure: What does the new environment mean for lawyers, lobbyists, consultants and PR firms?
• Addressing the significant change in the way FARA has recently been enforced
• Perspectives on the DOJ’s stance that a non-complying agent get into compliance amid DOJ’s continued investigation into whether or not that non-compliance has been willful
  • Do these enforcement actions indicate where FARA enforcement and Congress may be headed?
• Practical implications of the recent restructuring of the DOJ’s FARA unit
• The most common defenses to a FARA enforcement action and their effectiveness

Afternoon Networking Break

DEFENSE COUNSEL ROUNDTABLE

FARA Prosecutions in Practice: How Practitioners are Approaching the Toughest, Most Critical Decisions in the Wake of Recent, High Profile Cases

Thomas Firestone
Partner, Co-Chair of North America Government Enforcement Practice Group
Baker & McKenzie LLP

Jason D. Kaune
Partner
Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni, LLP

This panel will focus on take-away lessons from prominent enforcement actions, and the intersection of FARA with other U.S. laws.

• When and how to approach regulators about issues and problems
• Making proper representations of material facts and identifying clients
• The interaction of FARA with U.S. lobby disclosure, campaign finance and government ethics laws
• How to prepare for, and what to look out for, in the 2020 election season

Responding to Letters of Inquiry and Document Requests: Inside the Biggest Missteps That Can Trigger Suspicion, Inspections and Further DOJ Action

Joshua Ian Rosenstein
Member
Sandler Reiff Lamb Rosenstein & Birkenstock, P.C.

Matthew T. Sanderson
Member, Co-Leader of the Political Law Group
Caplin & Drysdale, Chartered

This session will highlight points to think about when DOJ sends a letter of inquiry asking why a particular entity is not registered, and requesting documents on representation of clients. Topics will include:

• What a FARA letter of inquiry means in practice?
• Re-thinking FARA inspections
• Best practices for responding to a deficiency notice
• Strategies for reducing the risk of further inquiries by the DOJ

LOOKING AHEAD

The Knowns and Unknowns of FARA Reform: Status of Pending Bills, and the Potential Impact on Civil and Criminal Enforcement Risks

Jason Abel
Partner
Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Nick Robinson
Legal Advisor – U.S. Program
International Center for Not-for-Profit Law

This closing panel will focus on the status and impact of the drive to expand the powers of the Department of Justice to impose civil fines, and limit the applicability of certain exemptions. The discussion will include a practical analysis of pending Bills, including those giving the DOJ authority to issue administrative subpoenas and more. Topics of discussion will include:

• What are the hurdles to reforming FARA?
• What exactly has been proposed and how it expands the panoply of risk?
• What is the anticipated impact of those proposals on the enforcement of the current law?
• Which reforms can DOJ implement on its own vs. Congress?
• Additional items to keep in mind when building FARA into compliance programs

Forum Concludes