Law firms with congressional investigations and white-collar practices expect to see an explosion of work after Democrats' stark victories in both chambers in Congress in this week's midterm elections.

Although they won't assume the majority on Capitol Hill and gain subpoena power until January, Democratic lawmakers have already signaled intentions to aggressively pursue probes involving Republican President Donald Trump's administration, its allies and companies that courted its favor.

That's welcome news for the bevy of firms large and small that specialize in representing individuals and companies facing congressional scrutiny. That work typically sees an uptick when party control in the House or Senate changes, but several lawyers said this cycle is different because long-frustrated Democrats have clearly telegraphed their plans to scrutinize the Trump administration and private industry.

"Congressional investigations will be the busiest area of law in Washington over the next two years," said Brian Nieves, a Holtzman Vogel partner and former deputy counsel to the House Oversight Committee.

After two years in the minority during Trump's second term, newly empowered Democrats could take aim at a range of targets, from administration figures to corporate donors and participants in business deals brokered by the Trump family. Unlike the White House, private companies cannot claim that their activities are protected by executive privilege.

Democratic US Representative Robert Garcia, who currently serves as ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, said in a statement on Tuesday that next year as chairman he will investigate Trump's family and administration, as well as private companies. "Lawyer up," he said.

Democratic US Senator Ron Wyden, who wrote simply "Subpoenas" in a post on X Tuesday night, said he plans to probe agreements between the Trump administration and pharmaceutical companies on drug pricing.

"If Democrats choose to pursue sham investigations and radical left policies, they are choosing to work against the American people," White House spokesperson Lauren Bis told Reuters. The administration has denied Democrats' corruption claims.

Rachel Cotton, who co-leads Arnold & Porter's congressional investigations practice, said Democrats have been transparent about congressional investigations being atop their agenda if they retook either chamber. Their forceful wins in both the House and Senate is likely to further embolden them, lawyers said.

"Bottom line, there will be more investigators and more investigations," said Mark Epley, who leads the Arnold & Porter practice with Cotton.

Susanne Sachsman Grooms, who heads Cooley's practice, said the volume of congressional investigations could double.

Apart from obtaining subpoena power, capturing the majority in each chamber will grant access to larger committee staffs and a bigger budget to carry out their priorities, said Allison Murphy, who leads the congressional investigations practice at Baker McKenzie.

The US Senate Employment Office on Wednesday began posting staff attorney roles for US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the incoming chair of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

Among the targets Democrats might pursue in the next Congress are the nine major law firms that collectively agreed to provide Trump $940 million in free legal services, in order to head off a White House crackdown on firms that the president had accused of racial discrimination and acting against the country's interests.

Last month, three Democratic lawmakers lodged a new request for Kirkland & Ellis to turn over records related to its deal with Trump, and vowed to press their demands into the next congressional term. A spokesperson for Kirkland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A lawyer who has advised one of the firms said it remains to be seen whether Congress will actually have the appetite to subpoena the nine law firms for records. "Congress wants to be topical and they have many targets," the lawyer said.