“I wanted our firm to be involved in the national debate, even though it was a Colorado-based law firm. There's really no history of that in the history of law firms in Colorado." ― Norman Brownstein in an interview with The Denver Post after the firm topped the nation’s lobbying rankings by revenue.
Chairman Norman Brownstein has earned the respect and trust of leaders on both sides of the aisle, which is why U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and Hank Brown honored him with the title of "America's 101st Senator."
Mr. Brownstein opened a government relations office in Washington, D.C. in 1995. The team initially consisted of two policy professionals and a couple of sublet cubicles. Subsequently, the organization has grown into one of the largest, most successful bipartisan government relations practices in the U.S.
Mr. Brownstein has impacted our Nation’s public policy for over four decades. The D.C. office’s success can be credited to his passion for political advocacy and his relentless pursuit of solutions to clients’ problems. Chairman Brownstein has been instrumental in the passage of numerous federal laws spanning six administrations.
Chairman Brownstein was politically engaged long before his multistate, multidisciplinary law firm set up shop in D.C. In the early ‘90s, he was instrumental in obtaining federal funding for the construction of the Denver International Airport, and could often be found on Capitol Hill advocating for pro-Israel causes. Within a year of establishing the D.C. office, Mr. Brownstein was utilizing his prior experience to help the cable industry achieve a major victory in the 1996 Telecommunications Act, a bill that created the framework for our modern Internet and broadband economy.
Those early victories established Chairman Brownstein and the firm as a major force among national law firms with government relations practices. Today, Brownstein is consistently ranked as one of the nation’s leading lobbying and government relations practice with 275 lawyers and policy professionals in our offices around the country.
From these modest beginnings, Mr. Brownstein continues to advocate with the same zeal as he did upon founding the firm, partnering with companies and organizations to plan and execute their public policy goals.
Professional Accomplishments
Tax
- Played a leading role in developing major tax legislation including:
- Addition of Code section 108(i) in The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) allowing for deferral of cancellation of debt income.
- Extension of NOL carryback period from two years to as much as five years under ARRA and the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009.
- Significant FIRPTA reforms under the Protecting American From Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015.
- Many of the foreign and business reform provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, including reform of business related exclusions, deductions and credits, including interest deductibility limitations, carried interest provisions, and BEAT and GILTI provision.
- Net operating loss, qualified improvement property, business interest expense limitation, excess business loss limitation and business tax credit provisions included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
Telecom
- Instrumental in every major piece of telecom legislation since 1982, for clients such as TCI, US West, ATT, Comcast, XM Radio, T-Mobile.
- Achieved breakup of undersea club cable monopolies to allow independent ownership and development of undersea cable.
- Instrumental in the regulatory conversion of satellite spectrum to terrestrial use.
Financial Services
- Instrumental in the passage of the Small Business Credit Availability Act 2018, which modernized the Business Development Company (BDC) industry.
- Instrumental in expanding TALF in the CARES Act for participation of non-bank financial institutions.
Health Care
- Worked to secure $175 billion for hospitals, doctors and other health care providers nationwide through the Provider Relief Fund.
- Played a leading role in developing federal tobacco legislation which helped create the multi-state tobacco settlement and establish a smoking cessation trust fund.
Giving Back
- Advocated for years to combat anti-Semitism resulting in President Donald Trump signing an executive order that formally applies the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism to colleges and universities under Title VI enforcement.
- Helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for Denver International Airport, the University of Colorado Health Science Center and improvements for Colorado’s interstate construction, including I-25, C-470 and E-470 highways.
- Instrumental in obtaining hundreds of millions of dollars for vital cancer and respiratory research for Melanoma Research Alliance, Prostate Cancer Foundation of America and National Jewish Health.
- Lead the effort on behalf of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to secure millions of dollars of federal funding in support of its tolerance programs.
- Worked to win the designation of Colorado’s Oh-Be-Joyful valley as a National Wildness Area.