REGULATORS ... Mount up!

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Regulated Discourse, a weekly newsletter about all things regulatory law and regulation.

My name is Greg Cox. I’m a lawyer in Texas (better yet, a Texas Lawyer). I split time between Fort Worth and Austin operating my own law and public affairs firm. I live and breathe all things regulatory, administrative, and legislative law. AKA “government stuff.”

I never expected to, but I’ve spent my whole professional career in and around government, politics, and law. And for those of us with Shiny New Object Syndrome, it is an ideal area to build a career.

It’s business, law, economics, and politics. It’s everything all at once because…well…everything is regulated.

So why launch Regulated Discourse? And what is Regulated Discourse going to accomplish?

Well, I literally just wrote it a few lines above so I’m not sure why I asked myself that question again. But the world of regulation is fascinating and covers such a broad spectrum of society. There are the regulations themselves of course. What they do, how they work, and their intentional and unintentional consequences. But there are also the people, the businesses, the lawyers, the elected officials, and the courts.

To borrow a phrase from parenting: it takes a village to regulate.

As to the what, I don’t really know specifics. Just going to throw a whole bunch of stuff at the wall and see what sticks. Mostly because there is just so much to talk about.

Just today, for example, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to take up a case that seeks review of the longstanding administrative law doctrine of Chevron deference (Looper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo). This case alone could have major implications and would easily fill up at least a couple issues of Regulated Discourse.

So I have no set plan. I am just going to look around, spot the interesting things, and then dive deep.

One thing is certain: I hope to interact and find an audience with the regulators themselves, the lawyers who litigate the regulations, and the Administrative Law Judges who often preside over some of the most complex and interesting issues of the day.

I also hope that people who don’t live and breathe this stuff find Regulated Discourse approachable and useful. If I can pull back the curtain and spark interest to those outside the ecosystem, I’ll consider it a win.

HQ for me is Texas, so I plan to focus on Texas. And right now in Texas, regulations are looking a lot like water, energy, broadband, schools, taxes, local governments, and economic development. You can expect deep dives on these issues (and more!) that include interviews with key decision-makers and approachable writing on the legal frameworks of each issue.

Like I said, going to just throw some stuff at the wall.

Regulations tell a story. And I think it’s a story worth exploring.

(too cheesy?)