Laurence E. Gold
Partner

Laurence E. Gold concentrates his practice on working with labor unions, advocacy and charitable organizations, political organizations, political services providers and others so they can succeed in the political, legislative and issue arenas. He regularly deals in particular with the Federal Election Commission, the Internal Revenue Service and state election agencies.  He litigates cases, provides advice and counsel, prepares amicus curiae briefs, conducts legal trainings for in-house lawyers and political, lobbying and accounting staff, helps new organizations get off the ground and then works closely with them in every legal aspect of their operations.

Mr. Gold argued before the United States Supreme Court in McConnell v. FEC (2003), one of  the Court’s landmark campaign-finance cases.  Mr. Gold sought, on behalf of a broad coalition of labor and other groups, a First Amendment ruling striking down unprecedented restrictions on independent broadcast communications by unions and nonprofit organizations.  The Court ruled otherwise, 5-4, but the Court has since invalidated these restrictions in subsequent decisions in which Mr. Gold has authored amicus curiae briefs.  Mr. Gold successfully litigated AFL-CIO v. FEC (D.C. Cir. 2003), which established that the FEC cannot place on the public record confidential documents of organizations merely because they have been the subject of an FEC investigation.

Mr. Gold frequently defends clients facing complaints, investigations and audits before the Federal Election Commission and state election agencies, and secures advisory opinions from these agencies.

Earlier in his legal career, Mr. Gold practiced labor and employment law on behalf of national labor organizations, local unions and allied groups.  That background has proven especially useful in representing unions, as well as other nonprofit organizations, in the political, tax and legislative arenas. (Separately from his practice at the firm, Mr. Gold currently serves part-time as Associate General Counsel at the AFL-CIO, where he also focuses on political and lobbying law.)

Education:

• Amherst College, B.A. 1975
• Cornell Law School, J.D. 1980

Bar admission:

• United States Supreme Court
• United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits
• District of Columbia 

Prior professional experience:

• Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO (on-going)
• Associate General Counsel, Laborers’ International Union of America
• Partner, Connerton, Ray & Simon

Activities:

• Member, American Bar Association, Advisory Commission to the Standing Committee on Election Law (2000-05)
• Co-Chair, Labor Relations Section, District of Columbia Bar, 1992-94, and Member, Labor Relations Section Steering Committee, 1991-97 (elected positions)
• Member, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee

Publications:

• The Rules of the Game: An Election Year Guide for 501(c)(3) Organizations, (Alliance for Justice, 2010) (co-author)
• "The Effect of Citizens United on Tax and Campaign Laws Governing Tax-Exempt Organizations," 65 Exempt Org. Tax Rev. 229 (March 2010) (with B. Holly Schadler)
• “Employer-Employee Committees: A Union Perspective,” in Kaufman and Taras, eds., Nonunion Employee Representation: History, Contemporary Practice, and Policy (M.E. Sharpe 2000) (co-author)
• "The Capricious Lure of Labor Law Deregulation," 89 W. Va. L. Rev. 883 (Fall 1987)
• Articles in Roll Call, Washington Lawyer, Dissent, The Nation and other publications.

Presentations and Appearances :

• Testimony before the Senate Rule Committee and the House Committee on Administration on proposals to amend federal campaign finance law.
• Speeches and participation on panels sponsored by the Bureau of National Affairs, Practicing Law Institute, American Constitution Society, Campaign for America's Future and other organizations.