Arnold and Porter

This article is part of the Spinwatch Fracking Portal and project

Arnold Porter is an international law firm which advertises itself as providing 'the full breadth of legal resources to represent all of our clients interests'.

Arnold & Porter provides clients with 'both formal and informal networks of local counsel in key major markets' and 'global support through a structure of strategically placed offices in the U.S. and Europe'.

The staff at Arnold Porter have strong connections to the US and British governments. As their website states, 'more than 50 attorneys currently working at the firm have served in the ranks of the government on both the state and national levels'. This includes high ranking personnel in the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Health Care Financing Administration, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Division of Corporation Finance in the Securities and Exchange Commission, Export Controls, US Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, United States Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), U.S. Department of Commerce, National Security Agency, Federal Reserve System, U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, US Attorney’s Office, Senate Judiciary Committee, Commodity Futures Trading Commission, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, Department of Defense, Senate Armed Services Committee, Administrative Conference of the United States, Regulatory Council of the United States, Board of National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, British Pharmacopoeia Commission, UK Ministerial Industry Strategy Group, UK Regulatory Authority, House Select Committee on Homeland Security, Committee on Government Reform, US Drug Enforcement Agency, White House Counsel’s Office, Advisory Committee on Corporate Disclosure of the SEC and the UK Department of Trade and Industry.

Clients

• Pfizer

Advice to Israel on FARA

According to leaked Israeli Ministry of Justice documents published by Distributed Denial of Secrets (DDoSecrets) in July 2024. The files came from a hack claimed by a group calling itself Anonymous for Justice, and their authenticity has not been independently verified. In January 2018 the Ministry of Strategic Affairs initially rated Arnold & Porter, represented by Amy Jeffress, second of three firms considered for advice on the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), at a quoted rate of $855 an hour. After dropping its first choice, the ministry hired Sandler Reiff (translated from Hebrew).

In July 2021, during coverage of the NSO Group Pegasus revelations, John Bellinger told the Israeli Ministry of Justice that "we cannot advise you on what to say to the US press without potentially having to register under FARA. Our activities on your behalf have been limited to litigation and other legal advice, which does not require registration." In December 2021 Israeli officials asked Bellinger and colleagues to review a draft government decision and "the new contract between Israel and the PBC (named 'Concert')" for FARA issues, because "insofar as funding may be relayed to organizations situated in the US, there is an interest in not running afoul of FARA legislation and regulations". See Concert - Together for Israel.

Resources

• Hydraulic Fracturing Legislative and Regulatory Materials, Arnold and Porter