As a Manager of Compliance Services, Carlo Aguja, Esq., has been providing his expertise and helping our clients for six years. He first began as a Manager of Research Services at State and Federal Communications, Inc. in 2018.

Carlo came to Ohio from the East Coast. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware, majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Economics. It wasn’t until he attended law school at the University of Detroit Mercy that he found an affinity for law, with a particular interest in criminal and immigration law.

In a previous role, Carlo worked at an IT company as the company’s legal corporate counsel, as well as helping with HR and managing immigration processes for employees moving to the United States. In this role, he became comfortable with work related to regulations and following standards set by the United States government.

As family members made the move to Northeast Ohio, Carlo felt it was time for a change, so he followed them. He found that State and Federal Communications, Inc. included work that was already in his wheelhouse.

“In my previous job. I had to make sure I was up to date in the laws that would affect the company, research it, interpret it, and then disperse it companywide. It was different law, but the same skill set,” he explained.

While understanding compliance laws is a major part of the job, Carlo says that not only is it important to answer what the client is asking, but it’s critical to anticipate the questions they may not think to ask.

“Issues may arise from innocuous questions,” he pointed out. “A client may ask me about getting coffee with a legislator in Connecticut, but he’s not registered in Connecticut, or he’s never even mentioned Connecticut before in his areas of responsibility. You’re always trying to do what’s in front of you and then anticipate.”

Carlo also says it’s important to understand the culture of different jurisdictions when working with lobbyists and legislators in different parts of the country.

“For example, states that are predominantly in the Northeast may have dealt with a specific issue over the last hundred years and will treat it differently than somewhere else that maybe never experienced that issue. These differences can affect how they choose to regulate the same issue. So, the Northeast might handle things a certain way, whereas the South is different,” Carlo explained.

Not only are the cultures of those states completely different, but their state legislatures may also operate very differently.

“In some places, a lobbyist can give a political contribution. In other places, they restrict it completely,” he explained.

The State and Federal Communications, Inc. team is full of experts you can trust. Learn more about what they can do for you at https://stateandfed.com/services/.