Berke | Farah LLP

William J. Farah is a Managing Partner of Berke Farah LLP.  Prior to founding Berke Farah LLP, Bill served as a partner and as the Political Law practice group co-chair at McGuireWoods LLP. Bill's practice focuses on counseling clients on the laws regulating political activity, including federal, state and local campaign finance, anti-corruption, lobbying, gift and gratuity, pay-to-play and government ethics laws.  This includes advising clients on the applicability of the Foreign Agents Registration Act (“FARA”) and working with the U.S. Department of Justice’s FARA Unit in determining whether registration is necessary and, if so, what information is reportable. Bill represents clients in enforcement proceedings, inspector general and Congressional investigations and conducting internal investigations.  He also assists presidential appointees in navigating the Senate confirmation process.  He has been named by Washingtonian as one of "Washington’s Best Lawyers.”

Bill's clients include numerous Fortune 500 companies, national trade associations, Political Action Committees (PACs) and super PACs, candidates for political office, public relations and lobbying firms, and nonprofit organizations. He served as general counsel to Biden for President in 2007-08 and Clark for President in 2003-04, and has been legal advisor to a number of U.S. Senators, members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Cabinet Members and Ambassadors — both Democrats and Republicans.

Bill regularly represents clients on matters before the Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Congressional Ethics Committees (including the Office of Congressional Ethics), the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel and the Internal Revenue Service, as well as state, municipal and local elections, lobbying and ethics authorities.

Bill's practice includes conducting internal investigations and audits for clients and helping clients to develop and implement effective compliance programs, particularly with respect to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and SEC, MSRB and CFTC pay-to-play restrictions and requirements. This includes conducting compliance training sessions for clients and preparing training materials.

Bill also represents financial institutions that provide financing to political organizations and other non-profits -- negotiating the terms, preparing the documentation and advising the financial institution on the applicable campaign finance law and government ethics laws.

For 21years, Bill has been a professorial lecturer of law at The George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C., and in 2014 he served in a similar position for the University of Georgia Law School Washington Semester Program.  In 1999, Mr. Farah served as general counsel to the NATO 50th Anniversary Summit Host Committee, a nonprofit formed by the transatlantic business community to assist the White House and State Department in hosting the NATO Washington Summit.  He is a graduate of the University of Rochester and a cum laude graduate of American University Washington College of Law.