Proceedings before government agencies, regulatory compliance, and review of administrative actions.
What this area covers
Administrative law concerns the actions of government agencies — the permits they grant, the rules they enforce, and the decisions they hand down. Our work covers proceedings before these agencies, compliance with the regulations they administer, and the review of administrative actions that affect a person or a business.
Agencies operate under their own procedures, and a matter is often resolved, or lost, on procedural grounds before it ever reaches a court.
Matters we handle
Proceedings before government agencies
Permits and licensing
Regulatory compliance
Appeals from administrative decisions
Government-contract matters
How these matters typically proceed
As a rule, a person must pursue the remedies available within an agency before going to court — a principle known as the exhaustion of administrative remedies. An unfavorable decision is usually first met with a motion for reconsideration, then an appeal to the head of the agency or, in some cases, the Office of the President.
Only once those steps are complete does the matter ordinarily reach the courts, through a petition for review (Rule 43) or, where the agency is said to have acted without or in excess of jurisdiction, a petition for certiorari (Rule 65). Observing this sequence is essential to preserving the right to be heard.
Related areas
Administrative matters frequently overlap with Labor Law where a government body is involved, and with Election Law in proceedings before the COMELEC.