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Legal departments need not fear Washington, D.C. Or at least that's the message from the authors of a new Crowell & Moring report on regulatory challenges in-house counsel will face this year.

The law firm released its annual Regulatory Forecast this week. This year's edition, titled “Digital Transformation: The Sky's the Limit,” explores how companies and their attorneys can help shape regulatory outcomes around cutting-edge technologies during a time of transition under President Donald Trump.

“Explosive innovation is propelling rapid economic and societal change around the globe,” said Philip T. Inglima, Crowell & Moring chair, in a press release Wednesday. “How this digital transformation is realized will be determined in large part by regulation—and right now, innovators have a unique opportunity to help shape that regulatory framework.”

Advanced technologies, including blockchain, self-driving cars and 3-D printing, are offering new opportunities for companies across all industries. At the same time, they may pose a need for new regulation in many areas, including antitrust, enforcement, government contracts, health care, intellectual property, insurance, privacy and cybersecurity, tax and international trade, according to the report.

The report suggests that even new tech startups can't ignore regulators. They must understand the regulatory “baseline,” the report said, no matter how young the company is. With automated vehicles, as an example, companies need to understand Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. “If you're a new tech entrant, that might not be right up your alley. Now it must be,” the report stated. “You want to make sure you're talking the same language as the people who will have regulatory control over much of what you do.”

And with issues like cybersecurity, it doesn't matter which industry you're in. Noncompliance comes at a cost, according to the report. That's why the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for example, have provided guidance in this area.

“There are some really extraordinary developments in technology,” said Richard Lehfeldt, partner at Crowell & Moring and co-editor of the forecast, in an interview this week. “Companies and regulators need to think of ways to sync these things up.”

One way, he said, that companies can easily work to find solutions is by having in-house lawyers work closely with the in-house regulatory and policy employees, if they have them.

“Sometimes they're merged, sometimes they're not. The coordination between those functions is where the rubber hits the road,” Lehfeldt said.

His other crucial advice for in-house counsel is: “Don't be scared of Washington.”

Lehfeldt said this is especially true in an administration that he believes is in favor of innovation and is trying to be flexible with weeding out unnecessary regulation.

“Other than those companies committing heinous federal crimes, Washington isn't a place to be afraid of,” he said. “If a solution is presented, they engage.”