Public Affairs
Political and regulatory decisions impact your business. We monitor regulatory changes, manage government relations and design strategies to protect your interests.
How we approach Public Affairs
- →Political intelligence: we anticipate changes that affect you
- →Lobbying: we represent your interests before authorities
- →Crisis management: rapid response to public controversies
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Key services in our public affairs practice
Engagement with regulators and the legislature
Managing the relationship with regulators and Congress is a competitive asset for regulated companies. We advise on designing engagement plans with ministries, superintendencies and inspection agencies: identifying the right counterparts, setting follow-up calendars and thematic agendas, preparing technical material for meetings and writing up minutes.
On the legislative side we track bills with sector impact, prepare technical briefings for members of Congress and committees, appear before committees, and handle hearings and summonses to investigative committees. All of this is recorded in the Lobby Act register where required and follows the transparency rules. A well-managed relationship allows a company to anticipate regulation, head off unfavourable interpretations and be seen as a credible technical counterpart.
Lobbying and Law 20,730: registration and compliance
Law 20,730 regulates the representation of private interests before public authorities. Any company or person carrying out activities intended to influence decisions, regulation or public tenders must register as an interest representative and file declarations of meetings, travel and gifts. We advise on the initial registration, identifying which authorities the law covers, internal training on how the law works, internal recording and reporting systems, drafting and signing declarations, and responding to inspections by the Contraloría General de la República.
We also implement internal engagement policies that reduce risk: a matrix of who may contact which authority, a pre-authorised agenda, and a record of minutes and commitments. Breaching the Lobby Act carries reputational risk and, in its aggravated form, criminal exposure.
Administrative proceedings before public bodies
Administrative proceedings —concessions, authorisations, public tenders, expropriations, zoning plans, environmental assessments— require sector knowledge, procedural skill and technical representation. We advise on bidding for public tenders, preparing the technical and financial submissions, filing challenges and claims during the process, and defending contested awards.
We also handle sector concessions (telecommunications, energy, transport); environmental impact studies and declarations before the SEA; amendments to municipal and inter-municipal zoning plans; and participation in public consultations. Every process has procedural deadlines that cannot be recovered once they pass. Planning early and taking part in a disciplined, technical way is the basis of a favourable outcome.
Regulatory strategy and participation in consultations
When a regulator opens a rule-making process (a regulation, a circular, a technical standard), the companies affected have a window to take part and shape the outcome. We advise on public consultations by the CMF, SERNAC, the SEC, SUBTEL, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance and other regulators.
The work involves: a technical analysis of the draft and its impact on the client, identifying the critical points worth arguing, drafting the submission with robust technical and legal reasoning, coordinating with trade associations so the message is aligned, and following up afterwards. For significant legislative processes we also prepare technical briefings for members of Congress, appearances before committees and communications to specialist audiences. Taking part well and early is markedly more effective than litigating against a rule once it is in force.
Regulatory crises and institutional response
A regulatory crisis —a public investigation, formal charges, a mass inspection, a media story involving an authority— combines technical, communications and reputational exposure. We coordinate an integrated response: technical management of the administrative proceedings (submissions, evidence, hearings), engagement with the authority to avoid unnecessary escalation, external communications focused on the critical stakeholders (customers, suppliers, shareholders, trade press), and monitoring the impact on other authorities that may open their own inspections.
For regulated companies a crisis can trigger simultaneous reviews by several regulators: anticipating that cascade is part of the strategy. Where there is criminal exposure we coordinate with specialist criminal defence. The aim is to resolve the technical case quickly, limit reputational damage and preserve institutional relationships for the long term.
Frequently asked questions about lobbying, regulation and public authorities
What is the Lobby Act, and who does it apply to?
Law 20,730 on lobbying and the representation of interests governs those who seek to influence decisions by public authorities. It applies to individuals and companies carrying out regulated activities (meetings, travel, gifts) before the officials the law lists: ministers, undersecretaries, heads of agencies, ambassadors, members of Congress, mayors, councillors, regional councillors, direct advisers and other designated officials. Those representing their own or a third party's interests must register, and the authorities must publish the meetings in their respective registers. The Act sets rules on transparency, filing deadlines, mandatory content and an enforcement regime supervised by the Contraloría General de la República. Breach exposes the official to administrative liability and the representative to public censure.
Who has to register as an interest representative?
Anyone —individual or company— carrying out activities regulated by Law 20,730 before covered officials. That includes companies handling their own matters (in-house lobbying), law firms representing third parties, public affairs consultancies, NGOs and trade associations. Registration is made with the relevant body (the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, the Contraloría) and updated periodically. Every meeting, accepted trip or gift must be declared within the deadline. Those acting within formal administrative procedures (which have their own rules), or exercising the right of petition without seeking to influence, are not required to register. Where there is doubt about whether an activity counts as lobbying, it should be resolved in favour of registering.
How do you take part in a regulatory consultation?
Public consultations are the formal channel for influencing rules while they are being written. Effective participation requires: spotting early that a consultation has opened (regulators publish these on their own websites), analysing the draft technically and its impact on the business, deciding which points are worth arguing (not everything is negotiable), preparing a written submission with robust technical and legal reasoning and concrete alternative drafting, coordinating with trade associations to reinforce the message, and filing within the deadline. Some consultations allow in-person hearings: be ready to defend the position before the regulator's technical team. Following up afterwards —were the comments taken up?— closes the loop and sets up the next interaction.
What should you do when you receive an inspection order?
Responding in an orderly way and within the deadline is critical. The steps are: receive and analyse the request (what is being asked, by when, on what legal basis?), gather the information internally while preserving legal privilege where it applies, prepare a complete technical response with the supporting documents organised, attend any inspection visit with legal counsel present, and follow up afterwards. The response must be complete and technical: not conceding what should not be conceded, and precise about what is acknowledged. A defective answer raises the risk of formal charges. Where several regulators inspect at once we coordinate a single unified response. The first response sets the tone of the whole process: investing well at the start saves a great deal later.
How do you manage a regulatory crisis?
A regulatory crisis needs an integrated response on three fronts at once. Technically: a solid procedural defence (submissions, evidence, hearings) focused on the specific case. In communications: a consistent message for the critical stakeholders (customers, shareholders, authorities, trade press), neither overexposing nor minimising excessively. Institutionally: managing the relationship with the authority to avoid unnecessary escalation and to prevent a cascade with other regulators that may open their own inspections. Where there is parallel criminal or civil exposure we coordinate with specialist counsel. The response must be fast but orderly: the first 48 to 72 hours usually set the course of the case. Preparing crisis protocols in advance substantially reduces improvisation at the critical moment.
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