POSTPONED: Dear Architect, are you also a lobbyist?

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Lobbying*

(* But Were Afraid to Ask)

PLEASE NOTE:  This event is postponed.  Once we have a new date, we’ll let you know.  Stay Healthy & Safe.

Recently, Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety posted a memo from the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission that has created some uncertainty with regards to when architects need to register themselves as lobbyists. Although certain public agencies, such as the City of Santa Rosa, specifically exempt architects and other licensed professionals, the City of LA interpretation creates some gray areas, especially since architects interact with city staff on a daily basis as they navigate the permitting, entitlement and plan-check process.   AIA Los Angeles aims to clarify these uncertainties and provide the architectural community with more resources to better ascertain the current rules and regulations.

In this seminar, Sutton Law Firm partner Bradley W. Hertz will speak about lobbying, registration and reporting requirements, investigations and enforcement, and traps for the unwary. Brad will discuss lobbying laws relating to land use professionals, including architects, engineers, consultants, permit expediters & others who interact with city officials in a way that could be deemed lobbying. Brad will provide guidance on whether and when architects and others must register as lobbyists, the exemptions that might apply, and the penalties that could be assessed for failure to register and file quarterly lobbying reports. Ignorance is not bliss when it comes to local lobbying laws, so let Brad walk you through the process and help you navigate the minefield that you might not even know you’re walking into.

Speaker: (confirmed)
Bradley W. Hertz – Partner, The Sutton Law Firm

Speakers: (Invited)
Heather Holt – Executive Director, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission
Kirsten Pickenpaugh – Deputy Chief of Enforcement, Los Angeles City Ethics Commission
Renee Stadel – Deputy City Attorney, City of Los Angeles

Speaker Biographies:

Bradley W. Hertz – Partner, The Sutton Law Firm

Over the last three decades, Brad Hertz, who manages the Sutton Law Firm’s Los Angeles office and the firm’s litigation department, has handled numerous high-profile litigation matters involving initiatives, referenda & recalls; ballot access, ballot designations & ballot arguments; election contests; and campaign finance & First Amendment issues. A graduate of Brown University and Georgetown University Law Center, Brad joined the Sutton Law Firm after working at Reed & Davidson and Buchalter Nemer. Brad has represented clients in Federal Election Commission, Fair Political Practices Commission and local enforcement agency actions. He often appears before the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission on matters ranging from lobbying, to governmental ethics, to campaign finance.

For many years, Brad served as an Adjunct Professor at Chapman University School of Law, where he taught Election Law and California Civil Procedure, and served as a member of the Los Angeles County Superior Court mediation panel. Before practicing law, Brad worked as a political consultant, an aide to a United States Senator in Washington, D.C., and a statewide communications director for a Presidential campaign. Brad is a Past President of the California Political Attorneys Association and a member of the Government Affairs Committee of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association. Brad is a frequent lecturer and author in the area of political and election law, and has been published in the Los Angeles Lawyer and Valley Lawyer magazines about election recounts, alternative dispute resolution, and pre-election litigation.

Any additional resource links, etc:

The Sutton Law Firm

Los Angeles City Ethics Commission

Am I a Lobbyist?

Influencing Land Use Decisions

City of LA Lobbying Brochure

Los Angeles Municipal Lobbying Ordinance

City of Santa Rosa ORDINANCE NO. 3954