Gary Gallant has more than 20 years of policy, government affairs and political experience. He joined the firm in 1999 after a 12-year career on Capitol Hill where he served as senior counsel to the Congressional Joint Economic Committee as well as chief of staff to Rep. Jim Saxton (R-N.J.)
Gary’s government affairs practice is broad and extensive. While many of his clients are in the telecommunications and media sector, Gary’s practice also focuses on the financial services industry, energy policy, antitrust law and competition policy, employment law, litigation reform, housing, gaming, tax, and appropriations issues. Recently, Gary helped design and implement a successful strategy on behalf of a software company to protect a government contract the company had been awarded but had come under attack by industry competitors.
In the area of telecommunications policy, Gary’s contacts and experience are uniquely rich and deep. He represents clients with policy interests in spectrum management, rural broadband deployment and penetration, network neutrality, Internet/data privacy, open access, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), online gaming, E-911 compliance, industry consolidation, local phone service competition, reciprocal compensation, and digital music copyright policies. Recently, Gary worked on several high-profile matters, including one involving call completion rates in rural states, another regarding Agricultural Department loans to companies deploying broadband networks in rural regions, and a third on behalf of a manufacturer that is interested in the federal government’s auctioning and repacking of spectrum frequencies.
Gary also recently worked with the deaf and hard-of-hearing communities in support of programs to enhance functional equivalence of telecommunications equipment.
Gary’s practice also focuses on advising clients with respect to the increasing complex and changing regulatory and legislative issues affecting energy and financial services sector companies. He advises energy sector clients on the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, helping them navigate the congressional and regulatory challenges faced in the disaster’s aftermath. In the financial services sector, Gary is working with a Wall Street firm on proposed regulatory changes in the over-the-counter securities market.
Gary is also active on regulatory and compliance issues relating to the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) and the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA). He has advised dozens of clients on the relevant and complex rules relating to establishing Political Action Committees and the reporting obligations that relate to such activity. Gary also regularly advises clients on lobbying ethics and reporting obligation rules and statutes.
Gary is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association and assists the national party in monitoring elections in numerous states. His experience in these activities includes successful assignments on behalf of the 2000 Bush/Cheney campaign, the 2002 Bob Ehrlich for MD Governor campaign, the 2004 Bush/Cheney re-election campaign and a 2006 successful house member re-election campaign.
