Nationally recognized authority on campaign finance, gift and gratuity rules, lobby registration provisions and securities laws regulating political activity and municipal securities transactions.
Represents numerous Fortune 500 corporations and trade associations.
Former Associate General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission, where he headed the General Counsel’s Enforcement Division and supervised the legal staff charged with the review of the FEC’s Audit Division.

Ken is a leading authority on political law with over three decades of experience advising on campaign law compliance, gift and gratuity rules, lobby registration provisions, securities laws regulating political activity and municipal securities transactions.

Ken represents numerous Fortune 500 corporations and trade associations. He advises elected officials as well as candidates facing various federal and state races and also counsels senior-level political appointees facing Senate confirmation in matters related to compliance with government ethics laws. Ken’s clients also include commercial and investment banks, insurance companies, energy companies, pharmaceuticals, media companies, trade associations, accounting firms and real estate businesses.

As former Associate General Counsel of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), Ken headed the General Counsel’s Enforcement Division and supervised the legal staff charged with the review of the FEC’s Audit Division.

Ken has deep experience in advising on pay to play laws and in matters involving the Ethics and Government Act and the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate ethics rules. He also has worked extensively with federal and state lobby registration laws, in particular compliance with the Lobbying Disclosure Act and the Foreign Agents Registration Act. He is the co-author of the Ethics Handbook for Entertaining and Lobbying Public Officials. Prior to joining Akin, Ken served as the head of the political law practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP for more than 30 years. He also served on the faculty of George Washington University and New York University.

Education
J.D., Emory University School of Law, 1975
B.A., University of Bridgeport, cum laude, 1972

Recognitions

Chambers USA, Leading Lawyer in Political Law, 2005-2024.
Washingtonian Magazine, Top Lawyer in Ethics and Election Law.
The Washington Post Magazine, Leading Lawyer in Washington, D.C.
Best Lawyers, Washington, D.C., Government Relations Practice Lawyer of the Year.
Roll Call, Who’s Who Among the Congressional Ethics Bar.
Who’s Who in America, Leading Lawyer.
International Law Office, ILO Client Choice Award, 2013.
Council on Government Ethics Laws - received the highest ethics award given annually to one recipient.

Affiliations and Public Service

American Bar Association, Foreign Agent Registration Act Task Force.
Board Member, Public Affairs Council.
Executive Committee Member and Counsel, American Council of Young Political Leaders.
Co-chair, PLI Corporate Political Activities conference.
Lawyer’s Committee Member, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Adviser, American Law Institute’s Members Consultative Group on the Principles of Government Ethics.
Former Chair, Election Law Committee of the Federal Bar Association.
Former appointee of the late Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan (D-NY) on the New York Judicial Screening Committee, where he participated in the recommendation of New York federal judges and U.S. attorneys.