Practice Areas

LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE

C. Stewart Verdery, Andrew Howell, Jessica Herrera-Flanigan, Timothy E. Punke, Scott Corley, Rich Thomas, Jane Alonso, Lora Ries, and Ryan Spangler

During the past twenty years, technology has changed the way crimes are committed and investigated. Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are charting new territories in developing public policies that are effective yet protect our citizens’ rights and privacy. Changing responsibilities and players has caused confusion across the spectrum of governments, as well as with private sector partners assisting in law enforcement and intelligence efforts. For example, not only must the intelligence community gather and dissect raw intelligence, it must now formulate it in a form that is useable by first responders and preventers. Similarly, law enforcement agencies are increasingly discovering a blurred line between criminal, terrorist, and protection missions. Complicating matters further is that Congressional oversight is constantly shifting, depending on the issue and nature of the perceived danger.

In response to these challenges, Monument Policy Group has built a robust Law Enforcement and Intelligence practice. Our team has unparalleled expertise in a host of law enforcement and intelligence areas, including federal grants, criminal systems and agencies, immigration, security clearance issues, agency preparedness, cyber security, fusion centers, information sharing, and threat risk assessments. We have effectively worked with associations and entities representing law enforcement and first responders across our country, as well as with the companies providing hardware, software, communications systems and consulting services to government agencies involved in law enforcement and intelligence activities.

On the law enforcement side, our team has worked in and with the Department of Justice and its component offices, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, numerous federal inspection services, and state and local law enforcement and fire agencies.  We also have worked closely with the Office of Management and Budget and other White House offices with an interest in law enforcement issues and with almost all of the sixteen intelligence community agencies.

The team includes our Founding Partner Stewart Verdery, who, as the first Assistant Secretary for Policy and Planning at DHS, worked closely with DOJ and the FBI on a range of law enforcement matters including visa policy, evidentiary standards, immigration, information sharing, and narcotics.  Stewart also oversaw policy development at CBP and ICE with respect to their law enforcement functions such as counter-narcotics, customs enforcement, and alien smuggling. In addition, Stewart was General Counsel to Senate Assistant Majority Leader Don Nickles, where he led leadership efforts on crime and terrorism issues, including the Patriot Act, terrorism legislation, and firearms legislation. He also was Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, where he directed the Committee’s Crime Unit and oversight of DOJ and served on the Justice transition team in 2000-2001.  

In addition, Partner Jessica Herrera-Flanigan served as the Staff Director and General Counsel for the House Committee on Homeland Security, where she managed matters relating to first responders and preventers, including issues such as information sharing, fusion centers, federalism, and grants. Previously, Jessica worked as Senior Counsel to the Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice, where she lead a team of prosecutors who worked with investigators across multiple agencies on high-tech crimes, electronic evidence-gathering, and surveillance issues. She also worked in the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office as a Special U.S. Attorney on fraud and public corruption cases and has taught courses on cybercrime, information security, and criminal law.  

Monument Policy Group’s Law Enforcement team also includes Senior Vice President Rich Thomas, a House veteran, who worked for Rep. Bill Pascrell and assisted in drafting the authorization of the “COPS Improvements Act” which expanded grants available to public safety and community policy programs. He has also worked closely with the first responder community at large to ensure a greater risk and vulnerability based approach in the allotment of Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Grants and on interoperability issues.

In addition, Vice President Jane Alonso, formerly the Legislative Director for Senator Susan Collins, previously worked for Senator Bob Graham, where she was responsible for the Senator’s work on the Caucus on International Narcotics Control.   Senior Counsel Lora Ries has significant experience working on judicial issues from her time on the House Judiciary Committee and the Department of Justice.

We also have deep relationships in Congress with the members and staff of the many committees with jurisdiction over law enforcement and intelligence issues, including Senate and House Judiciary, Senate and House Intelligence, Senate and House Homeland Security, Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs, and Senate and House Appropriations.

REPRESENTATIVE MATTERS

•    Provide a Fortune 100 company strategic advice, counseling, and support on its implementation of a consolidated nationwide federal wireless communications service supporting law enforcement, first responder, and homeland security communities.

•    Represent a major provider of background investigations to the federal government on security clearance reform and related issues.

•    Support a large biometrics and credentialing company on its security and law enforcement solutions.

•    Represented the nation’s largest provider of identity documents.

•    Represent a town’s fire department in Congress on funding and first responder issues.

•    Have regularly assisted companies with identifying procurement opportunities at relevant agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and State.

SELECT CLIENTS

Among the clients we have represented in the law enforcement and intelligence space are Cross Match Technologies, General Dynamics, L-1 Identity Solutions, Mount Holly Fire Department, and USIS.