Best Lawyers Near You in Albany, New York for Government Relations Practice
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Begin your search by selecting your legal focus. Then explore profiles, compare qualifications and connect with an attorney in New York who’s already earned the trust of the legal community.
Practice Area Overview
The primary roles of the public policy and government relations practitioner are education and advocacy. Unlike more traditional lawyer roles, the advocacy of the public policy and government relations practitioner spans many congressional offices and various executive branch agencies, and/or their state counterparts. Public policy and government relations practitioners air issues before members of Congress and their staffs, as well as other legislative bodies and executive agencies that may have an interest in a particular piece of legislation or regulation. They ensure their clients’ grievances are heard and advocate on their clients’ behalf to modify or stop laws or regulations that adversely affect them.
Given the differing interests of the two houses of Congress, as well as those found in other lawmaking bodies in the federal, state and local levels, finding common ground that addresses all of the various issues raised is one of the biggest challenges. The successful practitioner is able to work with clients to express to the relevant governing bodies the consequences of a particular course of action in clear, concise and understandable terms. This is often accomplished by educating the applicable branch of government, either through meetings, the submission of written comments or some combination of these efforts.
Hon. Thomas M. Reynolds, Senior Strategic Policy Advisor
Douglas Dziak, Counsel
Sally Vastola, Strategic Policy Advisor
Corporate Law & Commercial Litigation Legal Guide 2025
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Harold N. Iselin is Managing Shareholder of the firm's Albany office. He focuses his practice on governmental affairs and health care matters, representing diverse clients before the executive branch and state legislature. Additionally, he handles complex civil litigation matters, litigating a broad range of civil cases. Prior to joining the firm, Harold was a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice from 1984 to 1986, following which he became Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New...
With nearly three decades of experience in life, property, casualty, and workers compensation insurance matters, Michael J. Murphy is a skilled New York insurance legislative and regulatory attorney. Michael has been involved in many noteworthy insurance matters that have come before the New York State Legislature and the New York State Department of Financial Services, including most recently, ride sharing, climate change, and cybersecurity. Michael represents a number of national property c...
Mark R. Ustin is a regulatory attorney and lobbyist. Mark has extensive experience assisting health and human services providers and related entities navigate the complicated statutory, regulatory, and policy landscape surrounding service delivery and payment. He assists clients with promoting and responding to legislation, regulation, and other government actions impacting their interests. He also steers clients through state processes to secure millions of dollars in government grants and o...
Our Methodology
Recognition by Best Lawyers is based entirely on peer review. Our methodology is designed to capture, as accurately as possible, the consensus opinion of leading lawyers about the professional abilities of their colleagues within the same geographical area and legal practice area.
The Process
Best Lawyers employs a sophisticated, conscientious, rational, and transparent survey process designed to elicit meaningful and substantive evaluations of the quality of legal services. Our belief has always been that the quality of a peer review survey is directly related to the quality of the voters.