Regulatory Affairs & Government Relations

Ireland Stapleton’s Regulatory Affairs & Government Relations practice group advises and represents businesses in a variety of industries on public policy initiatives and in regulatory and licensing proceedings. Attorneys in this practice group have held positions in municipal, state and federal offices, including the Denver Department of Excise and Licenses, the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the Colorado Secretary of State, the Colorado and Illinois Offices of the Attorney General and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The Firm’s attorneys have many years of experience as regulators, advocates and policymakers and possess the depth of knowledge and insight clients need to further their initiatives and achieve their goals.

The Firm represents clients in proceedings before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment’s Division of Oil and Public Safety, administrative courts, and in transactional and disciplinary processes related to liquor licensing and legalized marijuana. Additionally, the Firm’s attorneys work with local, state and federal elected officials as well as business and community leaders to help strategize, advise and manage public policy initiatives across a wide range of regulatory, legislative and state constitutional matters. Giving legal advice with perspective, Ireland Stapleton’s Regulatory Affairs team collaborates with clients on public policy initiatives and in regulatory proceedings to support strategic goals and address critical needs.

Representative Transactions

• Representation of a rural electric distribution cooperative in a proceeding before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, in which the client and others are challenging the legality of rates charged by the generation and transmission cooperative that supplies electricity to the client
• Created the largest conservation easement in Colorado, involving coordination of public and private parties to create the cornerstone of a multi-state, large landscape conservation and habitat corridor
• Represented a landowner in proceedings before local, state, and federal agencies to oppose electric transmission project
• Created a legislative strategy to kill repeated efforts to ban photo-traffic enforcement in Colorado
• Represented a high-tech gaming company before state regulatory agencies and the Colorado legislature
• Defended business personal property tax and tax credit transactions in Colorado
• Represented a large nonprofit organization in creating its first multi-family, covenant-controlled low-income residential developments in Colorado
• Represented clients related to the negotiation, purchase, license transfer, and regulatory compliance of marijuana businesses
• Representation of restaurants in obtaining liquor licenses at Denver International Airport and other locations
• Monitor national and worldwide legislative and regulatory developments affecting manufacturers, marketers, and the commercial users of pesticides, electronics, batteries, and FDA-regulated products
• Counseled companies on product labeling, safety, and registration requirements, played a lead role in addressing product stewardship and recycling issues affecting the pesticide and battery industries and their suppliers and customers
• Counseled clients on legal and policy matters governed by local, state, and federal environmental and product safety laws including the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA), Clean Air Act (CAA), Hazardous Communication Standard of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA), Federal Hazardous Substances Act, Poison Prevention Packaging Act, Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA), U.S. Department of Transportation rules governing hazardous materials transport, U.S. Customs Service rules governing chemical import/export, Environmental Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), and similar state and local laws
• Drafted federal regulatory language and guidance documents for products regulated by the FDA