Are lawyer-lobbyists answerable to ‘a higher authority’? Bar association rules as lobbying regulation in the EU and the USA

Abstract

This legal comparative article analyzes the regulatory framework of lobbying services provided by law firms in the European Union and the USA. The comparison of regulation between the jurisdictions focuses on three aspects: (1) the definition of lobbying, (2) the legal advice exception, and (3) alignment with bar association rules. While the EU and the USA are largely aligned on the first two points, the differences emerge with respect to the third. The EU regulatory framework ignores lawyers’ professional obligations, which, together with the bar associations’ half-hearted embrace of lobbying rules, is found to be the main reason why law firms in the EU fly under the regulatory radar. With lawyers increasingly becoming involved in the lobbying and advocacy market, the EU and its Member States need to bring their rules on par with the US regulatory model that acknowledges bar association rules as lobbying regulation.