The firm disclosed its work in a filing with the U.S. Justice Department. It said it has previously offered legal advice to the judges but its work for the foreign figures is now stretching into political activity, which must be disclosed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act.
The U.S. and UK-based law firm will talk with U.S. government authorities about sanctions policy tied to the group of exiled judges, as well as «accounts made available to the Guaido-led government,» it said.
Partner Pedro Martinez-Fraga signed the disclosure. He and a firm spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The judges, known as the Supreme Tribunal of Justice for Venezuela in exile, could not immediately be reached for more information.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner said in the filing that it is charging the group 80% of its regular rates. Martinez-Fraga, who is based in Miami and New York, has the highest rate of the legal team, according to the papers, and will bill $1,156 an hour. He is joined by the firm’s Miami managing partner C. Ryan Reetz and lobbyists David Russell and Russ Carnahan.
U.S. officials have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Venezuela, citing alleged human rights abuses and the «illegitimate» regime of President Nicolas Maduro. In 2019 then-U.S. President Donald Trump ordered that the Maduro government’s assets within the United States be frozen.
U.S. and Venezuelan officials met in March to discuss the possibility of easing oil sanctions but made little progress toward reaching an agreement, Reuters reported.
The judges fled Venezuela in 2017 after the opposition-held Congress named them to an alternative Supreme Court. Opposition leaders claimed that the country’s existing Supreme Court was illegally packed with Maduro supporters.
The exiled court in 2018 held a symbolic trial of Maduro in Bogota, Colombia, finding him guilty on charges of money laundering and corruption, according to news reports.
Maduro has called Guaido a U.S. puppet and accused him of trying to oust him in a coup.