Lobbying & Public Policy

Our renowned lobbying & public policy practice integrates a top lobbying practice within a full-service law firm. Our bipartisan group comprises more than 75 lawyers and other professionals focused exclusively on representing clients before the federal government on legislative, policy and regulatory matters.

Our team includes former members of Congress and other lawyers and professionals with considerable government service experience, who also engage in political activities for both major U.S. political parties. With this formidable experience, we help clients with advocacy and building relationships with key leaders and staff throughout Congress and the executive branch. 

Bipartisan Political and Legal Perspective

With the benefit of longstanding bipartisan relationships, our lobbying & public policy lawyers and advisors assess client issues within the context of the prevailing policy and political environments. Thus, we help clients deliver upon critical path objectives irrespective of which party controls the legislative or executive branch.

Industry Leaders

Our lobbying & public policy practice is consistently ranked as one of the top government relations practices:

• Ranked Band 1 in Chambers USA. In a recent Chambers ranking, clients noted, “The level of commercial awareness, knowledge and sophistication of the group is readily apparent, with an excellent reputation for handling highly complex matters with far-reaching and profound consequences.” Another commenter noted the firm is “the top of everyone’s list for lobbying.”
• Ranked in Tier 1 for government relations by The Legal 500, with seven lawyers recognized and recommended for their practices. The lobbying & public policy team has been noted as having an excellent reputation and is praised for its “personalized service” in areas such as trade, health care, environment, tax and American Indian law.
• Five Akin lawyers and advisors were named to The Hill’s Top Lobbyists list in 2023.

Deep Experience Across Sectors

We assist clients with navigating complex legislative, policy and regulatory matters before Congress and the executive branch amidst dynamic policymaker, staff, procedural, oversight and political considerations. Our strong substantive experience on issues across the public policy spectrum helps position our clients for success as we collaborate to achieve their objectives.   

The sectors and issues in which our lobbying & public policy practice maintains major ongoing representations include:

• American Indian policy
• Coalitions & associations
• Communications, media & entertainment policy
• Congressional investigations
• Education policy
• Energy & environment policy
• Federal funding
• Food and agriculture policy
• Financial services policy, including financial markets, housing, insurance, hedge funds, private equity and securities
• Health policy
• International policy
• Legal reform
• Mergers and acquisitions—federal government review
• National security & defense policy
• Political law & government ethics compliance
• Sovereign governments
• Tax policy
• Transportation policy & regulation
• U.S. territories and freely associated states.

Full Spectrum of Services

We represent numerous Fortune 500 companies and a wide range of individuals, nonprofit organizations, municipal governments and agencies, American Indian tribes, foreign governments, foreign-based companies and organizations, foreign nationals and domestic and international coalitions and trade associations.

Our practice offers the widest possible range of services, including:

• Developing comprehensive strategic and tactical plans to achieve specific legislative, policy or regulatory objectives at all levels of government in the United States and internationally.
• Direct advocacy with government decision-makers.
• Forming and coordinating professional teams (e.g., media, local counsel and/or other consultants) to advance client objectives at a single level of government or in multiple government venues (e.g., state/federal, multistate and international).
• Supporting advocacy by client government relations staff.
• Drafting, analyzing and monitoring legislation, policy and regulations.
• Legislative and oversight investigation, including witness hearing preparation.
• Forming and managing coalitions.
• Managing and organizing grassroots and grasstops lobbying efforts.
• Advocacy related to mergers and acquisitions.
• Planning and communicating public policy initiatives.
• Counseling on election law, ethics rules and political compliance.
• Advocacy and managing state referenda and initiatives.

Multiforum Representations

Our practitioners are adept at assembling highly skilled teams and coordinating Akin’s services in multiforum representations in order to achieve clients’ objectives. These representations may focus exclusively on a particular committee or subcommittee of Congress or involve all three branches of the federal government.

Representations may require advocacy before units of local and state government to complement and support efforts at the federal level. Representations also may involve U.S. relations with international parties or governments and/or matters before international organizations, thus requiring advocacy before multiple institutions and venues based outside the U.S.

Integrated, Team-Based Approach

As part of a full-service law firm, our lawyers and lobbyists draw upon the capabilities of other Akin practices that may have substantive, day-to-day experience with the issues that lie at the heart of a client’s situation. These practices include bankruptcy, communications, corporate, energy, environmental, labor and employment, health care, intellectual property, international trade, investment fund and private equity, real estate and tax.

Access to these additional practice resources represents a differentiating value of Akin’s team-based lobbying & public policy approach. Likewise, as circumstances dictate, we have represented hundreds of clients on thousands of matters in collaboration with external resources, such as media relations specialists, public opinion polling organizations, grassroots consultants, local counsel and various other outside experts.