Political Law

The BakerHostetler team is extraordinary. Its particular strengths are creativity matched with sound strategy.

— Chambers USA 2026

BakerHostetler’s Political Law team advises clients on the full spectrum of laws and regulations governing political activity, campaigns and elections, redistricting, lobbying and advocacy, and government ethics.

We represent a wide range of clients, including corporations and nonprofits, state legislatures, members of Congress, political parties and political action committees (PACs), federal and state officeholders and candidates, and high net worth individuals. We help our clients comply with complex state and federal campaign finance regulations, structure and support nonprofit organizations to advance policy goals, protect the interests of candidates on Election Day and during the recounts and contests that can follow, develop comprehensive political activity compliance programs, counsel members of Congress and political appointees on ethics and financial disclosure requirements, and litigate redistricting and Voting Rights Act cases all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Our deep bench includes litigators with decades of experience in state and federal courts across the country, lawyers with years of service at the Federal Election Commission and as lead counsel for national political party committees and presidential campaigns, and former senior congressional staff. Our experience shaping and enforcing the framework of political law, combined with years of applying it in practice, lends us credibility and practical insight that set our counsel apart.

Successfully defended Ohio’s state legislative and congressional districting plans against partisan gerrymandering challenges before the Ohio Supreme Court and federal court, respectively, in Wilson v. Cox (2011) and Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute v. Householder (2019).
Represented the prevailing candidates in Ohio congressional (2018) and North Carolina Supreme Court races (2020) in recount and election contests.
Represented legislative leadership in redistricting litigation in Pennsylvania (2018) and North Carolina (2019).
Assisted winning candidates in defending their wins throughout recounts and election contests for multiple races in the 2017 Virginia House of Delegates elections.
Represented a client regarding reapportionment of legislative districts in Georgia in Larios v. Cox. The U.S. Supreme Court summarily affirmed the judgment of a three-judge panel in favor of our client.
Defended the 2011 redistricting plan drawn by the Virginia House of Delegates against claims of racial gerrymandering in Bethune-Hill v. Virginia State Board of Elections, a case brought before a three-judge panel.
Represented intervening minority plaintiffs in the redistricting case Georgia v. Ashcroft, and prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court after oral argument.
Represented the Ohio General Assembly in Ohio State Conference of the NAACP v. Husted (2014), defending legislation prescribing rules for early voting.
Initiated litigation in Ohio seeking to enjoin practice where some county boards of election sent applications for absent voter’s ballots to all electors in the county and some would pre-pay the postage to return the application and/or ballot unless all Ohio counties were required to take the same approach under the Equal Protection Clause and Due Process Clause. Vanzant v. Brunner, S.D. Ohio No. 1:10-cv-00596.