Brownstein Podcast Series

The impact of the pandemic on states is very real as state legislatures across the country experience budget shortfalls. Sarah Mercer, Kristina Kleist and Kristin Lee from the firm’s State Government Relations practice discuss how Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming have navigated federal and state relief funding so far and what to expect going forward.

There’s been no shortage of interest in the top of the ticket in the 2020 election, but there’s much at stake down ticket as well at the state level. Shareholders Sarah Mercer and Brin Gibson from the firm’s State & Local Legislation & Policy Group break down races to watch at the gubernatorial, attorney general and state legislature level that could also have a big impact.

California continues to break new ground in consumer protection regulation, having just established the new Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, or “mini-CFPB,” as well as being poised to pass yet another sweeping data privacy law on Nov. 3. Shareholders Jonathan Sandler, Alissa Gardenswartz and Sarah Auchterlonie break down these developments and discuss what they mean for businesses, and how California is shaping future regulation in these areas for the entire country.

The House China Task Force recently issued a report with hundreds of policy recommendations to counter current and emerging threats from China. In this segment, the Brownstein government relations team analyzes which recommendations are likely to be prioritized next cycle, and advises on the significant impact new policies may have on companies and their supply chains.

With a number of reauthorization bills outstanding, a potential omnibus appropriations bill on the horizon, and economic stimulus negotiations ongoing, the days and months following Nov. 3 will be active and consequential. Drew Littman moderates a conversation with Bill McGrath, Brian Wild and Nadeam Elshami to provide informative analysis on possible policy outcomes during this year’s “lame duck” session.

Both candidates in the upcoming presidential election have indicated changes to tax policy will be a priority, yet there is a stark contrast in their proposed approaches to altering corporate, international and individual provisions in the tax code. In this podcast, Brownstein’s National Tax Policy Group, in the style of The McLaughlin Group, forecasts the sequence of tax-related developments likely to occur under each potential landscape in 2021.

On October 8, Brownstein’s Health Care industry group hosted a panel discussion with industry experts about what the election, the Affordable Care Act challenge before the Supreme Court and policy trends mean for the future of health care and industry transactions. The discussion includes a pre-election assessment on further COVID aid legislation, the likely result of the ACA challenge, potential Trump and Biden presidential priorities on health care policies and responses to ACA Supreme Court scenarios, and the environment for health care businesses and dealmaking.

With ballots printed and the election less than a month away, Sarah Mercer and David Meschke unpack what’s on the Colorado ballot and the current political climate. They cover the strength of the state’s mail-in ballot process, Congressional races and judicial retention elections and the details of all the initiatives and measures that made it on the Colorado ballot.

Any one U.S. senator can prevent a bill from receiving a vote. The procedure that grants that ability, known as the filibuster, has a well-documented history in the Senate of preserving the rights of the minority party. Should there be a Democratic majority in the next Senate, many political analysts speculate the filibuster could be in jeopardy. Our team of Democratic and Republican strategists dive into the likelihood the filibuster is removed and the significant impact its elimination would have on the legislative process.

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) are officially the Democratic nominees for president and vice president. In this segment, Drew Littman talks with Al Mottur, Carmencita Whonder and Brian McGuire to discuss the importance of the vice presidential pick historically and its significance this year. The team also covers the impact Sen. Harris will have on the race at large and whether she is likely to inspire voters and move the needle in battleground states.

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser joins Brownstein shareholders Alissa Gardenswartz and Sarah Mercer for a discussion about the future of antitrust enforcement, ensuring consumer protection while supporting innovation and issues arising from the pandemic, including price gouging and evictions.

With the passing of the Aug. 3 deadline for signature gathering for citizen-initiated ballot measures in Colorado, Sarah Mercer and David Meschke discuss what initiatives are already on the ballot, what they expect to make it on the ballot and notably what will not make it on the ballot this year. They also cover online signature gathering and touch on TABOR and Gallagher Amendment issues going into the Nov. 3 election.

The COVID-19 pandemic has required city planning departments to change how they manage development projects. Brownstein Shareholder Jamie Thalgott brings together Alfredo Melesio, City of North Las Vegas Assistant City Manager, Michael Tassi, City of Henderson Director of Community Development and Services, and Robert Summerfield, City of Las Vegas Director of Planning, to discuss updates to entitlement and development application procedures, changes to the approval processes and development trends they are seeing as social distancing and remote work continue.

With the presidential election fewer than four months away, former Vice President Joe Biden has opened up a sizable lead in national polling over incumbent President Donald Trump. But how should these numbers be interpreted? Will both national and swing-state polling diverge from actual results this November as they did in 2016? Drew Littman moderates a discussion with Al Mottur and Brian McGuire to gauge the significance of recent polling and unpack fresh developments from the campaign trail.

On June 23, Brownstein’s Health Care industry group convened a roundtable of health care professionals and experts to discuss the health care business climate during and post COVID-19. The discussion includes trends across different health care sectors, an update from Brownstein’s Washington, D.C. team, False Claims Act issues associated with COVID-19 economic stimulus monies, the business and deal making environment and risks specific the health care industry, antitrust issues that could arise, as well as updates on the current state of the industry from medical professionals.

Brownstein Shareholder Diane De Felice joins Lauri Moffet-Fehlberg, senior principal at Dahlin Group Architecture, for a discussion on challenges and opportunities in new construction versus the existing built environment following the COVID-19 pandemic. They also cover how innovation such as apps tied to design responses—like new bike lanes, mapping sidewalks and other changes—can encourage safe use of public spaces for recreation and non-vehicular traffic.

In this episode of Brownstein’s What’s Next Nevada, Shareholder Mitch Langberg is joined by Ellen Schulhofer and Rich Benenson from Brownstein’s leadership team. They discuss lessons learned as business leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic and how those can be applied as businesses reopen, goal setting, the importance of input from all levels of a company to help revise internal processes as well as making empathy and wellness a priority.

Americans will cast their votes in the 2020 presidential election in less than five months, drawing an unprecedented election cycle to a close. The year, so far, has tested the ability of campaigns to adapt and meet the moment, as the nation continues to battle the COVID-19 global pandemic and grapple with recent protests. Drew Littman moderates a conversation with Al Mottur and Brian McGuire to provide a full landscape analysis of the race as it currently stands and offer insight into how it may unfold in the coming months.

In this episode of Brownstein’s What’s Next Colorado—a podcast series devoted to the legal, political and business issues companies will face as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic—Shareholders Sarah Mercer and Tal Diamant discuss Gov. Jared Polis’ announcement that Colorado restaurants may begin to reopen for in-person dining. They cover general restaurant reopening guidelines, Denver’s temporary program for restaurants to expand into open areas, issues that should be considered before expanding into public areas, as well as the impact of recent protests as restaurants try to gain footing.

This episode of Brownstein’s What’s Next podcast series—devoted to the legal, political and business issues companies will face in the weeks and months to come as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic—focuses on the liability risks of making inaccurate statements related to the current crisis. Brownstein Shareholders Mitch Langberg, Greg Brower and Alissa Gardenswartz discuss how representations businesses make to obtain benefits from the trillions of dollars of aid approved by Congress and statements made to the public surrounding businesses reopening can lead to government investigations and civil litigation.