Passed as part of Dodd-Frank, the Collins Amendment, as interpreted by federal regulators, inappropriately applied banking capital requirements to federally regulated insurance companies.

The challenge.

Virtually all policymakers involved, from regulatory agencies to Congress, agreed that insurance companies should not be subject to banking capital rules. However, champions of the Dodd-Frank Act were reluctant to amend the legislation, because of the potential for unrelated, open-ended changes. Most observers believed that it simply couldn’t be done. That merely motivated us further.

The approach.

Undaunted by the challenge of amending a major new law, we built a coalition of federally-regulated insurance companies and took our case to Congress and the federal financial regulators. By sticking to the facts and tailoring our tactics to the unique policy and political concerns of each stakeholder, we allowed lawmakers and regulators to focus on the narrow scope at hand. Our efforts were cited by the Wall Street Journal as “relentless, coordinated lobbying,” and ultimately led to bipartisan legislation allowing regulators to tailor capital requirements based on industry nuances.

We thrive on problems that seem impossible. We know that to win, we need to understand good public policy, but also be able to navigate difficult politics. We do this by carefully building coalitions across the ideological spectrum, and never giving up.

Bridget Hagan, Founding Partner

The solution.

Our coalition cultivated broad bipartisan support, and ultimately, the bill passed both the Senate and House unanimously. The bill was the first major substantive change to Dodd-Frank, resulting in significant impact for our clients and the entire industry.