Posted by Samantha Goldfarb.
The article The 2022 Midterm Congressional Elections and Their Impact on Business Lawyers, discusses the increasing polarization of Congress and how this idea effects the jobs of business lawyers. One event in particular that has fueled this partisan nature in recent times is the capital breach of Jan. 6th (Anderson). Most people immediately think about how events like this will alter the nature of our country, yet do not think about how events like this will specifically influence the way business’s function. With the Midterm Elections, attention is being brought to the fact that there is a strong possibility that the chambers of Congress will shift. This forces business lawyers to think about how their employment opportunities will adapt to this. “Business lawyers will have to adjust their expectations and ‘asks’ accordingly depending upon their clients’ and/or company’s interests, which may or may not be in vogue under a new regime” (Anderson). The important thing for them to keep in mind is how they will position themselves with people in control.
Since the Democratic party only holds a slight majority, Anderson argues that the midterms will be sure to stir up alterations in Congress. The vice president is currently able to break the deadlocked tie in Congress. One third of the Senate will be up for election this term and all of the House will be up for election. The uneasiness of the upcoming election creates concern for businesses because if Congress switches hands, guidelines and practices of businesses could be unaligned with the new party that emerges to power. Companies will have to deal with the politics that are to come. The Dobbs decision is a prime example of current legislation that could cause tension for businesses. “For example, we have seen dozens of companies offer to pay for the travel expenses of employees, their spouses, and their partners to receive reproductive healthcare access if they live in states that have tightly restricted such access in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization” (Anderson). Depending on which political party you are associated with, this could either be a major advantage for businesses or a major disadvantage. How will businesses change their policies regarding this issue if Congress changes hands?
In terms of abortion, it is hard for give and takes to occur because Congress is in such gridlock over this issue. However, there is still hope that negotiation can occur and the area of business law will be impacted. The article stresses that since this bureaucratic environment is always developing, business lawyers need to keep up with these policy alterations. This is the best way for them to accurately direct their clientele in the right direction. I think that this article has a lot of interesting points that I did not previously think about if Congress changes hands.Samantha is a political science major at Seton Hall University, Class of 2023.
https://businesslawtoday.org/2022/09/2022-midterm-congressional-elections-impact-on-business-lawyers/
Anderson, Caitlin A. “The 2022 Midterm Congressional Elections and Their Impact on Business Lawyers.” Business Law Today from ABA, Business Law Today, 21 Sept. 2022, https://businesslawtoday.org/2022/09/2022-midterm-congressional-elections-impact-on-business-lawyers/.