Laurence E. Gold principally represents labor, political, advocacy and charitable organizations, political services providers and activists so they can succeed in the political, legislative and policy arenas. Mr. Gold focuses on federal and state campaign finance, election, lobbying, tax, labor, ethics, and general nonprofit law.

Mr. Gold litigates cases, provides advice and counsel, and conducts legal trainings for political, lobbying and accounting staff. He frequently helps new organizations get off the ground and then works closely with them in every legal aspect of their operations. Mr. Gold defends clients facing complaints, investigations and audits before the Federal Election Commission, state election agencies, the Internal Revenue Service and other governmental agencies. He also participates in their regulatory, advisory opinion and other proceedings. 

Following the 2020 national election, Mr. Gold joined the Biden-Harris Transition as a member of the Department of Justice Agency Review Team, where he conducted the incoming Administration’s review of the Federal Election Commission and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

In 2003 Mr. Gold argued before the United States Supreme Court in McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, one of the Court’s landmark campaign-finance cases, on behalf of a broad coalition of labor and other groups seeking a First Amendment ruling striking down unprecedented restrictions on independent broadcast communications by unions and other nonprofit organizations. The Court ruled otherwise, 5-4, but the Court has since invalidated these restrictions in subsequent decisions in which Mr. Gold authored amicus curiae briefs. Among his other cases is AFL-CIO v. Federal Election Commission (D.C. Cir.), which established that the First Amendment precludes the FEC from placing on the public record confidential documents of organizations merely because they have been the subjects of an FEC investigation.

Earlier in his legal career, Mr. Gold practiced labor and employment law on behalf of national labor organizations and allied groups, both in private practice and as in-house counsel. That background has proven especially useful in assisting organizations of all kinds to use the law most effectively to achieve their political, legislative and policy goals.

Practice Areas
Campaign Finance & Election Law
Corporate Formation and Governance
Tax-Exempt Organizations
Lobbying Law & Government Ethics
Labor Union Advocacy

Professional Experience
Associate General Counsel, AFL-CIO
Associate General Counsel, Laborers’ International Union of North America
Partner, Connerton, Ray & Simon

Education
Cornell Law School, J.D.
Amherst College, B.A.

Bar Admissions
District of Columbia
United States Supreme Court
United States Courts of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Fourth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits

Professional Activities
Member, AFL-CIO Union Lawyers Alliance (formerly, AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee)
Former Member, American Bar Association, Advisory Commission to the Standing Committee on Election Law
Former Co-Chair, Labor Relations Section, District of Columbia Bar