Megan Sowards Newton draws upon more than two decades of experience in government and politics in her practice as an election lawyer. She advises members of Congress, candidates, political committees, corporations, trade associations, nonprofits, and donors on all matters related to participation in the political process. This includes compliance with state and federal campaign finance and election laws, lobbying laws, the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), and pay-to-play laws. She routinely represents clients before the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the House and Senate Ethics Committees.
Megan served as general counsel for Florida Governor Jeb Bush's 2016 presidential campaign where she advised the campaign on a full spectrum of political law issues as well as corporate compliance. She has previously served as general counsel to the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), where she advised senators and candidates on ballot access, ethics rules, and campaign finance issues; crafted and managed the compliance structure for the Committee's $40 million independent expenditure unit; reviewed and defended television ads; and led recount preparations in battleground states.
Megan served as deputy general counsel for Romney for President (2012), where she managed the campaign's innovative compliance approach to pay-to-play rules and developed a mastery of ballot access, delegate selection, and acquisition rules.
Megan has substantial experience providing guidance on rules governing gift and ethics, personal financial disclosure reporting, and conflicts of interest; forming and advising candidate committees, political action committees (PACs), and Joint Fundraising Committees; and developing Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) compliance programs and responding to Government Accountability Office (GAO) audits of LDA registrants.
Experience
- University of Michigan (J.D. cum laude 2008; Bates Fellow); Middlebury College (B.A. magna cum laude 1999; Phi Beta Kappa)
- District of Columbia, Maine, and United States Supreme Court
- Law Clerk, Office of Counsel to the President of the United States (2007); Speechwriter, United States Department of State (2003-2005); Press Secretary, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (2001-2003); Speechwriter, U.S. Sen. John Chafee (1999)