In Law.com Article, Amish Shah and Tristan Lim Discuss Practical Takeaways for Companies Facing Congressional Investigations

Amish Shah, co-leader of Ropes & Gray’s congressional investigations practice, and Tristan Lim, litigation & enforcement associate, examined the practical implications of two recent D.C. Circuit decisions and a new Office of Legal Counsel opinion for companies and individuals facing congressional investigations.

Their article, published in Law.com, analyzes the key holdings of De La Torre v. Cassidy and United States v. Navarro, which clarify the limits of Fifth Amendment and executive privilege defenses to congressional subpoenas, as well as the OLC's Private Advisers opinion, which extends executive privilege to certain communications between private parties and senior White House officials, but with significant limitations.

Among the practical takeaways, Amish and Tristan emphasize that organizations should not wait until to November to prepare. Instead, they write, "now is the time to assess—under privilege—whether your company or executives could be drawn into a congressional inquiry if there is a change in control of the House or Senate" and prepare a unified, cross-functional response strategy before a letter arrives.