Wiley Rein’s Election Law Practice Rated among the Nation’s Best; Jan Witold Baran Recognized as “One of the Most Highly Regarded Practitioners in the Field”

The 2008 edition of Chambers USA:  America’s Leading Lawyers for Business recognizes Wiley Rein’s Election Law & Government Ethics Practice and its chair, Jan Witold Baran as being among the country’s best, placing both in their top tier rankings—recognition they have received each year since the directory’s inception.

As Chambers reports, “In addition to its enviable GOP ties, this widely admired eight-partner team advises corporations seeking to participate politically without falling foul of the increasingly strict regulatory environment. Wiley Rein is also singled out for its fine heritage in political law; it has been operating in the area since the 1970's.”  Peers summed it up for the publisher, “While most of the firms active in this theater are in the business, for Wiley Rein you might say it is the business.”  Describing how the group “offers a panoramic view of the field where others may offer only glimpses,” Chambers notes that, “In one of its more unusual pieces of work, it provided legal advice to television personality Stephen Colbert on his satirical run for the presidency—a matter that demonstrated not only its prominence in the field but also its versatility.”

Accolades extend to “one of the most highly regarded practitioners in the field,” Mr. Baran, who maintains his spot among the nation’s leaders in this field as a “figure who has ‘shaped the law as well as working within it.'”  In an environment where “the burgeoning area for political law is in corporate advice, Mr. Baran receives kudos for his “a great understanding of the interface between political and corporate concerns.”

The Chambers ratings are based on extensive interviews of law firms’ clients, colleagues and competitors.  Inclusion in the directory is determined through a rigorous vetting process whereby Chambers researchers evaluate law firms and attorneys on a number of factors.