Top Lobbyists: Hired Guns
October 05, 2011By The Hill Staff
Josh Ackil and Matt Tanielian, Franklin Square Group. With clients including Apple, Google and Intel, the two Democrats are among the elite lobbyists for Silicon Valley in Washington.
Nick Allard, Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., Micah Green, Jonathan Yarowsky and Edward Newberry, Patton Boggs. The firm continues to reign on K Street thanks to its roster of seasoned power brokers.
Andy Barbour, Smith-Free Group. Smith lobbies for several financial and insurance companies but is best known for his work as the lead Democratic lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable.
Doyle Bartlett, Eris Group. Bartlett has years of Capitol Hill experience and a busy lobbying practice that is on the front lines for clients including MetLife, Genentech and eBay.
Jeff Berman and David Russell, Bryan Cave. Berman, the former delegate counter for President Obama’s 2008 campaign, and Russell, a former chief of staff to the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), are standouts on a capable lobby team.
Wayne Berman, Drew Maloney and Moses Mercado, Ogilvy Government Relations. Ogilvy’s commanding K Street presence reflects the firm’s deep ties to leaders in both parties.
Jim Blanchard and Ilia Rodriguez, DLA Piper. Blanchard, a former Democratic governor of Michigan, and Rodriguez, an ex-lobbyist for the Center for American Progress, are at the vanguard of a formidable K Street team.
Daniel Boston, Health Policy Source. Boston’s numerous healthcare clients turn to him for the policy expertise he honed as a GOP aide on Capitol Hill.
Chuck Brain, Capitol Hill Strategies Inc. Once a Clinton White House aide and longtime House Ways and Means Committee staffer, Brain would make any list of the best-known Democratic lobbyists in town.
John Breaux and Trent Lott, Breaux-Lott Leadership Group. Now merged with Patton Boggs, the two former senators are going strong with a profitable lobbying practice anchored by several blue-chip clients.
Gerald Cassidy and Gregg Hartley, Cassidy & Associates. The trailblazing firm has regained momentum by diversifying its practice following a staff shake-up late last year.
David Castagnetti and Alex Vogel, Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti. The bipartisan shop has heavy hitters on both sides of the aisle, thanks to Democrat Castagnetti and Republican Vogel.
Rodger Currie, Foley Hoag LLP. A former lobbyist for PhRMA, Currie now works for several clients at Foley Hoag in the healthcare, medical and biotechnology fields.
Al D’Amato, Park Strategies. The former GOP New York senator has been a big advocate for online gambling as a lobbyist for the Poker Players Alliance.
Linda Daschle, LHD & Associates. Daschle, a former administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration, remains one of Washington’s top aviation lobbyists.
Licy Do Canto, The DoCanto Group. The former aide to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) is a highly regarded healthcare lobbyist.
Julie Domenick, Multiple Strategies LLC. The Democratic lobbyist, who was once targeted by the K Street Project, has flourished by opening her own firm.
Ken Duberstein and Marti Thomas, The Duberstein Group. Duberstein was floated as a candidate for Obama’s chief of staff before the president chose Bill Daley, while Thomas is a Democratic vet who worked in the Clinton Treasury Department.
Steve Elmendorf and Jimmy Ryan, Elmendorf | Ryan. A former aide to ex-House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (Mo.), Elmendorf brought in Ryan to help expand the Senate ties of his thriving firm.
Victor Fazio, Joel Jankowsky, Scott Parven and Bill Paxon, Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld. Fazio, Jankowsky, Parven and Paxon are among the lobbyists who keep Akiwn Gump humming along as one of the top earners on K Street.
Mitch Feuer and Robert Griner, Rich Feuer Group. The two lobbyists work for first-tier clients from the financial services world, including Visa and Goldman Sachs.
Mike Fulton, GolinHarris. Fulton is well versed in the minutiae of the Washington bureaucracy and is adept at finding federal grants for his clients.
Sam Geduldig, Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford. The former House Republican leadership aide has seen a business boom at his firm since the GOP takeover of the lower chamber.
Nick Giordano, Washington Council Ernst & Young. A former counsel to the Senate Finance Committee, Giordano is one of the best tax lobbyists in town.
Rich Gold, Kathryn Lehman and Gerry Sikorski, Holland & Knight. The firm’s flourishing lobbying practice is plugged in to both parties.
Slade Gorton and Emanuel Rouvelas, K&L Gates. Gorton, an ex-GOP senator from Washington, and Democrat Rouvelas are just a few of the big names at the prominent law and lobby firm.
Fred Graefe, Law Offices of Frederick H. Graefe. Graefe is a force among Democratic healthcare lobbyists.
Lanny Griffith and Loren Monroe, BGR Group. Though it has added Democrats, Griffith and Monroe’s firm is known for GOP connections and has benefitted from long-standing ties to the new House leadership.
J. Steven Hart, Williams & Jensen. Hart is a sought-after GOP fundraiser who has steered the ship for more than a decade as Williams & Jensen’s chairman and CEO.
Michael Herson, American Defense International. Herson’s Pentagon and White House experience has been an asset to him as president of the successful defense consulting and lobbying firm.
Mike House, Hogan & Lovells. House leads the government relations practice at the firm and calls the shots on a prized account with Nissan North America.
Mark Isakowitz, Fierce, Isakowitz and Blalock. Isakowitz and his GOP lobby shop scored a coup this year when Apple and Facebook both signed up as clients in a two-week span.
Chris Jennings, Jennings Policy Strategies. A sage on healthcare reform, Jennings worked on President Clinton’s reform push and later lobbied on Obama’s bill.
Joel Johnson, The Glover Park Group. The former aide to Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) helps manage one of the marquee Democratic-leaning firms in town.
Thomas Jolly, Jolly/Rissler. Jolly is founding chairman of the Washington Caucus, a group that hosts dinners with lawmakers, and a mainstay among Democratic lobbyists.
Mark Kadesh, Kadesh & Associates. Kadesh, once chief of staff to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), has an A-list of California clients and a reputation as a real pro.
Matt Keelen, The Keelen Group. The Republican lobbyist and campaign guru is a bridge to labor for the GOP.
Rick Kessler and Steve Sayle, Dow Lohnes Government Strategies. The former House Energy and Commerce Committee aides — Kessler a Democrat and Sayle a Republican — have built a well-established lobbying practice.
Kenneth Kies, Federal Policy Group. Kies will be one to watch during the corporate tax reform debate because he was a key aide during the last overhaul of the tax code.
Lisa Kountoupes, Kountoupes Consulting. The former aide to Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) has her own lobby shop and contracts with Best Buy, Yahoo and Intel.
Marc Lampkin and Jack Quinn, Quinn Gillespie & Associates. Republican Lampkin and Democrat Quinn make for a blockbuster pairing.
Bob Livingston, The Livingston Group. Republican Livingston, a former House Appropriations Committee chairman, is a statesman on K Street.
Sander Lurie and Todd Weiss, SNR Denton. Lurie, a former chief of staff to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), and Weiss, who has worked for former Sens. Tim Hutchinson (R-Texas) and Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), make for a strong one-two punch.
Steve McBee, McBee Strategic. A former aide to Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.), McBee has seen his lobby firm take off.
Al Mottur and Manuel Ortiz, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Mottur heads up lobbying operations at the K Street giant. Ortiz, one of Brownstein’s newest hires, is a rising star in Democratic circles.
Larry O’Brien, OB-C Group. O’Brien is one of the most potent Democratic fundraisers in the country.
Tom O’Donnell, Gephardt Government Affairs Group. O’Donnell and his former Capitol Hill boss, ex-House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (Mo.), have done well since joining forces.
Marty Paone, Prime Policy Group. Paone spent decades on Capitol Hill working for Senate Democrats and is part of the leadership team at Prime Policy, one of K Street’s most successful firms.
Jeff Peck, Peck, Madigan, Jones & Stewart. Once an aide to then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Peck has carved out a niche working on the Dodd-Frank reform law.
Steve Perry and Andy Wright, Dutko Grayling. Perry and Wright man the roster for one of the top 20 lobby shops in Washington.
Jim Pitts and Chris Cox, Navigators Global. Pitts’s firm has welcomed back GOP consultant Mike Murphy, adding more Republican talent to pair with Cox, a skilled hand from the George W. Bush White House.
Heather Podesta, Heather Podesta + Partners. The former congressional aide has built a solid lobbying practice and helps fundraise for Democrats with her husband, Tony.
Tony Podesta, Podesta Group. The prolific Democratic fundraiser has seen his firm rocket to the echelons of the top five lobby shops.
Thomas Quinn, Venable. Quinn’s ebullient personality is complemented by deep knowledge of the financial sector that dates back to his time as general counsel to the Comptroller of the Currency.
Robert Raben, The Raben Group. Raben, a former aide to Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Clinton Justice Department official, runs one of the best Democratic-leaning lobby shops in town with clients in the corporate and nonprofit world.
John Raffaelli, Capitol Counsel. The former Democratic staffer has more than 25 years of expertise in taxation and international trade — two issues at the top of the congressional agenda.
Mark Rayder, Alston + Bird. Rayder’s Hill experience in appropriations and healthcare policy makes for a dynamite combination.
Melissa Schulman, The Bockorny Group. A former aide to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Schulman has the connections to centrist Democrats that are always prized on K Street.
Scott Segal, Bracewell & Giuliani. Segal is a respected advocate for several electric utilities and energy companies and played a big part in the industry response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Rhod Shaw, The Alpine Group. Shaw is an astute observer of Congress who has worked on several major pieces of environmental and telecommunications legislation.
Tom Sheridan, The Sheridan Group. Sheridan uses his social services and public policy experience to bolster causes that don’t fit the typical K Street mold.
Tracy Spicer, Avenue Solutions. Spicer mastered policy working for the late Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and is a trusted adviser for a number of leading health insurers.
Charles Stenholm, Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC. Stenholm’s decades of experience on the House Committee on Agriculture will be called upon as Congress crafts the next farm bill.
Alexander Sternhell, Sternhell Group. Previously a Senate Banking Committee staffer, Sternhell’s two-year-old venture is in the big leagues with clients such as Citigroup Management and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Sandi Stuart and Vin Weber, Clark & Weinstock. Stuart’s executive experience under President Clinton and Weber’s past as a GOP congressman from Minnesota have lured a diverse clientele to the firm.
Linda Tarplin, Tarplin, Downs & Young. Tarplin remained among the elite healthcare lobbyists during the reform debate, and her GOP background makes the 112th Congress a prime time to display her prowess.
Rich Tarplin, Tarplin Strategies. Tarplin exemplifies the breed of lobbyist who makes a living by out-working the competition.
Dan Tate Jr., Capitol Solutions. Tate delivers stellar client relations while harnessing 10 years of upper-level Hill and administration experience.
Robert Van Heuvelen, VH Strategies. Van Heuvelen shrewdly surrounds himself with the best; he recently hired Stephen Ward, formerly chief of staff to Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), to help keep his firm among the elite.
Stu Van Scoyoc, Van Scoyoc Associates. The man who founded a top-earning lobby firm specializing on taxation and appropriations will have plenty of work in the months ahead.
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