Every year, the 120 members of the California State Legislature introduce over 3,000 individual bills, each expected to be amended on average 6 to 8 times as they go through the legislative process.   These amendments will vary widely, from technical details to wholesale changes, which are called “gut and amend” bills.  The latter result in what are effectively brand new bills that must be read and analyzed.  

Our training and background as attorneys provides a tremendous value to our clients, as every bill and every amendment needs to be read and scrutinized closely to determine its true impact.  This means that there are essentially over 20,000 bills that must be read and analyzed as they run through the policy and fiscal committees and are heard on the Floor of the Assembly and Senate. 

Additionally, each committee’s corresponding analysis of the bill, as well as each Floor analysis, also must be read and studied.  This legislative blizzard will touch on every conceivable issue imaginable and push to the breaking point the ability of Legislators to ensure that any legislation is well-crafted, reasonable, and has as few unintended consequences as possible.  There are thousands of special interest groups who use their influence to shape legislation and public policy.  Almost every piece of legislation results in aggressive lobbying by one or more of those interest groups.  These “stakeholders” use all their energy to ensure that their clients’ interests are protected, and often seek to mold the legislation in a manner that best serves their clients’ needs. 

Legislators are often faced with multiple competing interests on a single piece of legislation.  Our collective litigation and negotiation experience in a wide variety of civil, criminal, and administrative contexts enables us to knowledgeably and zealously advocate for our clients in the face of so many competing interests at the Capitol.

Specifically, Ellison Wilson Advocacy offers the following legislative services:

Advocating a client’s position, either publicly or behind-the-scenes, to achieve positive results in California’s Legislature is no easy task in a term-limited system.  With countless competing groups all jockeying for the attention and sympathy of a set of constantly changing Legislators, there is no time for inexperience. Whether our clients are interested in a single, specific legislative proposal, or have more comprehensive needs which implicate the entire State Budget, we assist clients in achieving the best possible result in a chaotic environment.  The Firm’s Capitol experience and personal efforts are brought to bear on issues requiring quick, focused pressure and on topics necessitating long-term, ongoing attention.

As attorneys, we are qualified and experienced in drafting the actual language to be submitted to Legislative Counsel for any proposed legislation or amendments.  This is the language that will ultimately become the law if the bill is enacted, and thus it is critical that the language be drafted with an eye to detail, as well as a comprehensive understanding of the existing statutory framework and the precise problem that the language is intended to address.

We monitor every bill introduced in each Legislative Session, and report to clients regularly on bills that may be of interest to them.  We generally encourage our clients to establish a Legislative Committee or a Legislative Director.  We then work with this person or group to identify the issues that are of importance to them.  Once we have identified a complete set of significant issues, we read through the thousands of bills looking for those pieces of legislation that impact one or more of the issues.  We develop a sophisticated prioritization system that enables us to monitor the dozens of bills that may impact a client at any particular time.  We train all our clients in that prioritization system, and work with them in developing methodologies to support or oppose legislation. Our reports include copies of the bill as well as our analysis of its likely success or failure, and a discussion of the arguments in favor or in opposition to the bill.  In addition, we track each bill as it moves through the complex legislative process, and notify the client of important developments along the way.

In particular legal and legislative situations, knowing the thoughts and arguments of the original drafters of a law can prove invaluable.  As attorneys, we have the training to conduct in-depth historical research and articulate the results in a manner most relevant to the present policy debate, and most beneficial to our client.

In addition to drafting talking points, we typically engage in “mock testimony” sessions with our clients so they are fully prepared when they appear before a committee. At the client’s election, we will often testify on their behalf as well.  We help clients identify likely questions from the committee members, and prepare them to respond to any potentially hostile questions from members whom we have identified as being likely sources of opposition.

The Firm will draft and deliver position letters and other communiqué, as directed by the client, to appropriate committees and members of the Legislature.  Our general practice is to draft written material well in advance of any identified deadline, and to circulate it to the client for their approval prior to its dissemination.

In an ever-increasingly complex atmosphere, the Firm will provide clients with the tools and guidance to support the campaigns of elected officials.    We serve as advisors to the PACs of many of our clients, and we have developed a keen sense of identifying the candidates and fundraisers that will be most beneficial to our clients in establishing long-term relationships with their elected representatives.  With so many competing fundraisers, unless a client has unlimited financial resources, it is imperative that PACs maximize the effectiveness of their political expenditures.

The Firm drafts and ensures compliance with all lobbying activity reporting requirements under the California Political Reform Act and subject to review by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

In a political system where greater numbers generally leads to greater results, joining forces with like-minded stakeholders can oftentimes lead to a favorable outcome.  The Firm can help build and maintain such coalitions to optimize our client’s results.  Because we have a long history of working at the Capitol on a wide variety of different issues, we can use our collective experience to identify other likely allies in any political policy debate.  Our contacts allow us to maximize our client’s influence, because we can portray them as part of a larger combination of forces working towards a common goal. 

Headed by the Governor and his or her administration, California’s executive branch also consists of a maze of over 500 agencies, departments, boards, bureaus and commissions.  Each of these entities is bestowed with enough power to drastically impact our clients in numerous ways.  From the regulatory process to government-issued contracts, the Firm’s experience in guiding our clients through the maze has led to countless positive results. 

Specifically, Ellison Wilson Advocacy offers the following executive branch services:

Our firm monitors and analyzes current and proposed regulations and advises clients on the applicability of those regulations to their business or profession.

Our firm can develop and execute a tailored strategy to make proposed regulations more acceptable to our clients’ needs. Oftentimes this strategy will encompass both public advocacy, including written comment and public testimony, as well as private efforts, such as individual meetings with key decision-makers.

Our firm assists our clients through the contract procurement process for the thousands of government contracts issued on a yearly basis, including building and maintaining key relationships, as well as strategizing for and developing written proposals.

Most people agree that in today’s litigious society, it is imperative to have skilled legal counsel once a person is already involved in a lawsuit.  However, it also true that early and constant attention to a problem along with sound legal advice can prevent the occurrence of costly and contentious litigation in the first place.  The Law Offices of Brooks Ellison seeks to provide clients with the analysis, advice, and insight to avoid litigation, along with the legal talent, muscle, and skill to handle that litigation when it is necessary or unavoidable.  Additionally, our approach recognizes that establishing a seamless consistency throughout a client’s governmental policies can minimize duplication, which ultimately results in a more coherent, and ultimately more cost-effective, comprehensive governmental strategy.

The Law Offices of Brooks Ellison offers the following legal representation services:

The Law Offices of Brooks Ellison has extensive experience litigating complex, multi-disciplinary issues on both the trial and appellate level in both state and federal courts.

Having served as the long-standing General Counsel for a number of clients, we are seasoned in providing sophisticated analysis and advice on sensitive legal matters for non- and for-profit corporations on both short-term unexpected issues and long-term strategic goals.  We are actively involved in all board meetings and other high-level events ensuring compliance with all statutory and bylaw requirements, including elections, motions, policies, and all other legalities.

The multitude of legal issues and requirements surrounding campaign finance, lobbying and similar political and ethical matters are confusing and riddled with peril.  We advise corporations, trade associations, labor unions, public entities, and other major campaign donors and political action committees (PACs) to ensure compliance with these complex requirements.  Additionally, we can represent clients subject to investigation or enforcement proceedings involving such matters.    

The diverse talents and experience of the members of Ellison Wilson Advocacy enable us to perform services that traditional government relations firms are incapable of providing. 

Specifically, Ellison Wilson Advocacy provides the following additional services:

Establishing a positive image with California’s citizenship can prove instrumental in accomplishing our clients’ goals – whether this means expanding the customer base, increasing the membership, or enacting positive legislation.  Generally, taking a client’s message to a wider audience means positive or educational media coverage in newspapers, the internet, radio, and television.  We can help facilitate such positive press through drafting and distributing press releases, organizing press conferences, arranging editorial board meetings, and responding to press enquiries, amongst others.

One cost-effective, and oftentimes more successful, solution to running a trade association or other non-profit is to contract out the administration of the entity.  Not only does the entity benefit from our collective experience with associations, but ultimately the expenses are minimized without a full-time staff, office building, and other office equipment and costs.  Ellison Wilson Advocacy can perform all association executive functions including membership development, communications, meetings management, representation, accounting, and all other administrative functions including phone and email services.