Kirk L. Jowers is a member in Caplin & Drysdale's Washington, D.C. office. He joined the firm in 2001.
Services
For the past several years, Mr. Jowers has worked exclusively in the election law and government ethics arena. He has experience advising clients on the full range of issues arising under federal, state, and local campaign finance laws and regulations. He also has worked with clients on their lobbying and ethics compliance and has represented clients in all phases of Federal Election Commission and related federal court proceedings.
Highlights
Kirk has advised more than 30 Republican congressional candidates and provided legal counsel to three presidential candidates including George W. Bush's 2000 presidential campaign on Electoral College issues and in Broward County, Florida during the 2000 election recount controversy. He also has served as the Chairman (2007-2008) and General Counsel (2005-2008) of Mitt Romney's Commonwealth PAC; Deputy General Counsel for the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce (1999-2000) and as General Counsel of the Washington, D.C. Republican Party (1999-2000).
Professional Activities
· Member of the six person Utah Governor's Advisory Team
· Director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, the Associate Director of the Institute of Public and International Affairs, and Associate Professor at the University of Utah, where, inter alia, he teaches a course on the U.S. Presidency
· Acting Chair and Executive Director of the Governor's Commission on Strengthening Utah's Democracy, which reviews and makes reform recommendations concerning Utah's campaign finance, lobbying, and election laws
· Member of the Utah Constitutional Revision Commission, which is statutorily bound to make a comprehensive examination of the Utah Constitution and recommends changes to the Governor and the Legislature and advise the Governor and Legislature on proposed constitutional amendments
· Editorial Advisory Board Member, Diplomatic Courier (Washington, DC: 2009-present) and Contributor and Executive Editor, G8 Summit Magazine (The CAT Company, INC. G8 Summit Magazine Company LTD, 2008-present)
Awards & Honors
· Listed in the 2010-12 editions of The Best Lawyers in America in the specialty of Government Relations Law
· 2007 recipient of the University of Utah's Par Excellence Award
Recent Publications
· Described by the Salt Lake Tribune as the "most quoted man in Utah," Mr. Jowers is a frequent media commentator and lecturer on politics, campaign finance laws, government ethics, and the First Amendment
· Speech Governed by Federal Election Laws and Election Law and the Internet in Corrado, Mann, Ortiz and Potter, The New Campaign Finance Sourcebook, The Brookings Institution (2005)
· Election Law and the Internet, The Civic Web (Rowan & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2003)
· Issue Advocacy: If It Cannot Be Regulated When It Is Least Valuable, It Cannot Be Regulated When It Is Most Valuable, Catholic University Law Review (Fall 2000)
Other Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association (Election Law Committee)
Republican National Lawyers Association
American Political Science Association
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
Government Experience
Law Clerk to the Honorable Dee V. Benson, U.S. District Court of Utah, 1996-1997
Law Clerk to the Honorable Stephen H. Anderson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit, 1995-1996