Stanley Brand has made a career of getting involved in the government’s business: He was 28 years old when he pitched Speaker Tip O’Neill to make him the first general counsel for the House of Representatives, and in the decades since has represented individuals in high-profile federal investigations.

Brand recently departed Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld to start his own practice, five years after the international firm absorbed his private practice. Soon after, the COVID-19 pandemic forced firms across the globe to physically shut their doors—but Brand said the low overhead costs have helped his practice, Brand Woodward Law, get off the ground. On top of that work, Brand is vice president for Minor League Baseball, which is the middle of negotiations for a new league structure. Those talks have been waylaid by the pandemic.