Matthew Field

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Matthew Field is a knowledgeable regulatory counselor and skilled litigator who represents clients in highly regulated industries through all stages of the regulatory process, including providing compliance advice, defending against agency enforcement actions, and handling appellate litigation. Matt is particularly well versed in postal and energy regulation, and has developed an extensive record of achieving positive results in representing clients before U.S. federal courts, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), and the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC).

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Cybersecurity is a growing concern for all organizations, especially those that store, process, and transmit sensitive data. As commercial mailing and publishing continue to digitize, business operations rely on sharing growing volumes of data. This includes, for example, sharing subscriber and mailing information with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), data aggregators, and other partners.

Increasingly, federal and state laws require that such information be protected with cybersecurity safeguards and require notification to consumers in the event of unauthorized access or breach. Liability and loss of consumer confidence are important risks that organizations often manage by updating their legal and technical processes to better reflect the modern cyber threat environment.Continue Reading Evaluating the Cybersecurity Risk of Mailing and Publishing Partners

Readers of this blog often learn how the government regulates modern instruments for customer engagement – social media, texting campaigns, e-commerce sites, the use of influencers, and more. Old habits die hard, however, and many marketers continue to use the U.S. Postal Service to connect with consumers. When those mailers want to reach a large audience, Marketing Mail (formerly known as Standard Mail) may be the answer. Mailers use USPS Marketing Mail to deliver catalogues, circulars, flyers, advertising, and both printed and non-printed merchandise designed to enhance the tactile experience of opening the mail and create a positive association with the sender.
Continue Reading USPS Proposal May Cause Direct Mail Advertisers To ‘Go Postal’

You’re sitting in the offices of your on-line business, going through your in-box.  Your mail includes a letter from the U.S. Postal Service.  The letter claims that you owe a six- or seven-figure sum—more than your profits last year—because you didn’t pay enough postage on parcels of merchandise that you mailed to consumers one, two or three years ago.  You have 30 days to appeal—to another Postal Service official—or pay up.  “We appreciate your business,” the letter ends.

You sit there in disbelief.  Your company has a dedicated in-house shipping department.  You’ve faithfully paid the postage on your outgoing parcels with a postage meter for several years—maybe even with a computerized meter and data link that enable the Postal Service to debit your postage instantly from your bank account whenever you mail.  None of the post office employees who deal with your shipping department have ever raised any underpayment issue before.  How are you going to reconstruct what you mailed several years ago?  And, if you owe more postage, how will you ever be able to get your customers to reimburse you?  This seems Kafkaesque.

How should you respond?
Continue Reading Please don’t, Mister Postman: How to respond when the Postal Service claims that you underpaid postage