“Don’t eat the tusks,” Graves Garrett partner Eddie Greim recently advised a nationwide conference of federal, state, and local government attorneys. The program, entitled “How to Eat an Elephant: Surviving Comprehensive Legislative & Constitutional Reform,” was presented at the Council On Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) 2018 national conference in Philadelphia.

Greim joined Federal Elections Commission Assistant General Counsel Robert Knop, Missouri Ethics Commission executive director Liz Ziegler, and Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Jeff Mangan. The four attorneys reviewed and debated major constitutional changes in the fields of campaign finance and ethics at the federal and state level. Greim focused on his experience at the federal level and in several states, including Montana, Wisconsin, and Missouri’s own controversial Constitutional Amendment 2 in 2016 and Constitutional Amendment 1 in 2018.

Greim provided the practitioner’s perspective on how to achieve, challenge, or adapt to sweeping reforms. First, he ensured that the audience — primarily composed of government regulatory and enforcement counsel — understood that he didn’t choose the title of the forum: “Should we have added ‘Donkeys’ to the title just for good measure?”

The audience wasn’t sure, but Greim later remarked that he appreciated the opportunity to share insights with regulators who are tasked with making sense of and enforcing new campaign and ethics reforms in a First Amendment-sensitive area.

“We remain engaged in truly unique and meaningful governmental law work at Graves Garrett, and this was a wonderful forum to help shine light on important matters,” Greim said.

The annual COGEL Conference is the top destination for learning what’s new in the fields of campaign finance, governmental ethics, elections, lobbying, and freedom of information. This marked the 40th year of the event, which offers an opportunity to connect with experts from across the U.S. and Canada.

COGEL is the preeminent organization of government ethics administrators. Members work in the fields of governmental ethics, freedom of information, elections, lobbying, and campaign finance.