![]() ![]() ![]() His experience of the industry means that he knows where clients’ concerns will lie. His knowledge of oil and gas law is second to none. “ James Downie is a stand out partner in the oil and gas team. His mix of specialist legal input delivered in a pragmatic and common-sense way is very welcome." "James Downie is incredibly knowledgeable and maintains a specialism on decommissioning matters. He is a member of the Law Society of Scotland Energy Policy Committee.ĭual-qualified in Scots and English law, he is named as a Leading Lawyer in the 2024 edition of the Legal 500: He is particularly interested in decommissioning and acts for a number of operators and non-operators on decommissioning issues. He has extensive experience in the UKCS and has also worked on transactions in the US, Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, the Caribbean and Egypt. A stock trading ban is good policy and good politics.James has over 20 years’ experience, with an extensive track record in upstream oil and gas transactions including M&A and development and operational contracts. If they don’t, serious questions should be asked of the party’s leadership. Perhaps Democrats will still pass a robust stock trading ban before January and rescue themselves from a problem of their own making. More broadly, passing such a ban could only help public trust in government, which isn’t a bad thing for the party that supports a bigger government. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, for example, could have contrasted her vote with her opponent Adam Laxalt’s holding over $67,000 in pharmaceutical stocks while opposing lowering drug prices. And any Democratic backer could use the bill as a flashlight on their foes’ conflicts of interest. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., could have highlighted that accomplishment in close races. Had both houses passed a bipartisan bill before Election Day, champions of the ban like Spanberger and Sen. Office of Government Ethics, writes that the bill would create a category of blind trusts that is less strictly controlled than current regulations - “fake blind trusts, like the one former President Donald Trump invented for himself in 2017.”Įven if a ban ends up making it through Congress by the end of the year, the lost time is a missed chance for Democrats. For example, Walter Shaub, a former director of the U.S. So, unlike in 2012, when Obama signed the STOCK Act less than three months after he called for its passage, Democrats have wasted almost a year dawdling. Though Merkley and many other members support a ban, the working group has moved as speedily as any working group does - which is to say we still don’t have its proposal. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., to lead a working group to reach a consensus on a new plan from several being floated in the Senate. Pelosi’s move angered Republicans like Roy and even miffed Democrats, with Spanberger saying she was “ghosted” by Democratic leadership. At the time, the speaker predicted the bill’s text would be released “pretty soon,” but Lofgren released her proposal only last week. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., to draft her own bill. Instead, in February, Pelosi asked her close ally Rep. ![]() Pelosi and Schumer quickly reversed course, but their handling of the issue has been curious, to say the least. “I don't own any stocks, and I think that's the right thing to do,” he told reporters - a laudable position, but hardly a committal one. “We’re a free-market economy,” she said, Representatives “should be able to participate in that.” A month later, when asked whether he supported a stock trading ban, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., ducked. As recently as December, Pelosi still opposed a trading ban altogether. And it has proven an effective issue in elections: Democrats won control of the Senate in the 2021 Georgia runoffs, for example, in part thanks to attacks on Republicans Kelly Loeffler’s and David Perdue’s stock trades as senators.Įthically righteous and politically effective - sounds like a no-brainer, right? Not so for Democratic leaders. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee among those in favor. It has the coveted stamp of bipartisan approval, with Republicans like Rep. It polls incredibly well with voters, with two-thirds to three-quarters of voters in favor. Beyond solving a major ethical problem, there are good political reasons to pass such a ban. The easiest way to fix the problems that persist under the STOCK Act is to ban individual stock trading. ![]() Amateur investors have even developed strategies based on Paul Pelosi’s portfolio. Ask House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who gets plenty of attention whenever she discloses lucrative trades by her husband, Paul. And even when lawmakers comply with the act, it’s not always a good look. ![]()
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