Mark W. Ward
Partner and Founder
Mr. Ward maintains regular contact with federal, state, and local enforcement agencies and, as he is known for his specialized working knowledge of campaign finance, gift, and lobby disclosure laws at the various levels of government, he is often consulted by regulators for his opinion and advice on compliance-related practice, systems, and related issues. In addition to developing programs and tracking systems to manage compliance required under the various statutes, Mr. Ward provides full-service administration and reporting services for PACs and political committees, candidates, lobbyists, corporations, and individuals whose government affairs activities require disclosure.
Just prior to forming Ward & Lawless, Mr. Ward spent 6 years as a Client Specialist in the Political Law Group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. There, Mr. Ward was the head of the team that developed and administered compliance and reporting programs for many of the firm’s clients. During his tenure there, Mr. Ward assisted The Council on Government Ethics Laws (“COGEL”) with the preparation and compiling of materials for the annual COGEL conferences and published the COGEL Blue Book: Update on Legislation and Litigation, U.S. & Canada.
Before joining Skadden, Mr. Ward worked for the United States Senate, where he served as the Secretary of the Senate’s Administrator for Foreign Travel and Lobbying Disclosure. There, Mr. Ward was directly responsible for the implementation of the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (“LDA”) and the administration of the former disclosure law, the Federal Regulation of Lobbying Act of 1946. Mr. Ward was accountable for drafting forms and formulating guidance during the last-minute passage of the LDA and ultimately revamped the disclosure program by authoring a new, all-inclusive guidance document and streamlined forms that incorporated the changes made by the Technical Amendments Act of 1998.
Mr. Ward has served as a Reserve Officer with the Maryland Natural Resources Police, Marine Division, where, in addition to patrolling the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, he was an instructor at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police Training Academy at Matapeake. Mr. Ward authored many training guides related to navigation, seamanship, boat handling, emergency procedures, and police communications.
Mr. Ward and his wife, Maggie, now live on and manage their gentlemen’s farm in rural Cocoa, Florida.
Bridget Lawless
Partner and Founder
Bridget Lawless joined Mark Ward in early 2008 to create a firm providing services tailored to each client’s unique needs, for a reasonable fee, while prioritizing a valued work-life balance. Ms. Lawless supports individuals, corporations, non-profits, trade associations, think tanks, coalitions, and political committees. For each, she develops and maintains customized surveying, reporting, and communications programs to enable them and their employees to remain in compliance with federal, state, and local election, lobby, gift, and ethics laws. When needed, she serves as a confidential liaison for her clients with applicable government regulators.
Prior to forming Ward & Lawless, Ms. Lawless was a Client Specialist in the Political Law Group at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP where her compliance and disclosure experience was broadened and solidified.
Before Skadden, Ms. Lawless was at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. for nearly 14 years, through three major corporate mergers and several smaller ones. There, she was responsible for the corporation’s government relations and procurement lobbying disclosure, for monitoring all political contributions—corporate, executive, and employee industry-specific (i.e., MFPs, IMPs)—and for organizing company-sponsored political fundraisers within applicable law. As PAC Director she managed a $1 million dollar per year program that solicited more than 50,000 employees worldwide and gave to candidates and committees at the federal level and in 23 states. She also developed and managed employee grassroots programs. Ms. Lawless served as the corporate point-person for questions regarding banker interactions with government officials, for communicating with employees who wished to run for public office, for approving all political and lobbying-related expenditures, and for drafting and updating all corporate written policies regarding these activities. For more than a decade, Ms. Lawless was the company’s registered New York City Lobbyist.
Ms. Lawless earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and English from Fairfield University and is a graduate of the CORO Leadership New York Program. She is an active participant in the efforts of the New York Advocacy Association and was a long-time member, and former board member, of the New York-based Government Affairs Professionals. She served on the State Regulation and Legislation Committee of the Securities Industry Association (now called the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) and was a Regional Vice Chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers National Public Affairs Steering Committee. One of her proudest moments was serving as a corporate representative with USA Engage, where she was involved in the early stages of the 2000 Supreme Court Case NFTC vs. Baker, which found the “Massachusetts Burma Law” (prohibiting the commonwealth from doing business with any company operating in that country) unconstitutional.
Ms. Lawless lives in Connecticut with her husband and children and is very active in her community.