Public Records / FOIA

Our team of experienced litigators and compliance professionals, many of whom are former government officials, advise clients on all aspects of public records law, using their deep understanding of FOIA, its state and local counterparts, and public records policy and practice to help clients:

The federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and state and local public records laws are best known for ensuring public access to government records and other data. However, FOIA and its state counterparts can have unintended consequences for those unfamiliar with the nuances of public records law, potentially exposing confidential information to public disclosure.

• Protect sensitive and confidential information from disclosure through public records requests.
• Obtain competitive intelligence and government data through public records requests.
• Handle other FOIA/public records matters throughout the United States.

Major areas of our practice include:

• Providing proactive advice to government contractors and other clients interacting with the government on disclosure rules and exemptions under public records laws.
• Drafting contractual provisions to protect client information from public disclosure.
• Protecting information provided in response to government investigations from public disclosure.
• Seeking opinions of state attorneys general and other government attorneys regarding applicable exemptions.
• Obtaining information related to government agencies’ regulatory and compliance matters.
• Justifying disclosure exemptions to government agencies.
• Making public records requests to gather competitive intelligence, “discovery” against federal, state, and local governments, and for other strategic reasons.
• Litigation to avoid the release of clients’ confidential or sensitive commercial information.