Administrative Law and Regulatory Compliance
Agency Powers and Procedures
Understand how agencies receive authority through enabling statutes, the limits of delegation, and the distinction between rulemaking and adjudication. Know the notice-and-comment process, the difference between legislative and interpretive rules, and the exceptions for good cause. Study the formal adjudication hearing model and the role of administrative law judges.
Review and Deference
Candidates should understand the standards of judicial review: de novo for legal questions, substantial evidence for formal fact-finding, and arbitrary and capricious review for policy choices. Know that courts no longer give broad deference to an agency's interpretation of ambiguous statutes and that courts retain independent judgment on legal meaning. Understand exhaustion of remedies, ripeness, and standing to challenge agency action.
Compliance Obligations
Study licensing, reporting, recordkeeping, inspections, and self-disclosure. Understand the effect of guidance documents versus binding rules, and the due process requirements for sanctions, including notice and an opportunity to be heard.
Traps and Rule of Thumb
Traps: treating guidance as binding law; assuming an agency may adjudicate without notice; confusing substantial evidence with the preponderance standard. Rule of thumb: separate the question (law versus fact versus policy) from the reviewer. Law gets independent review, formal facts get substantial evidence, and policy gets a deferential arbitrary-and-capricious check.