Bates and Pomper Discuss PLP Cross-Practice Collaboration with NLJ

The National Law Journal has quoted Akin Gump public law and policy practice heads Hunter Bates and Brian Pomper in the article “Money Talks: Lobbyists Pulling the Strings on Capitol Hill.” The article examines the top law firm lobbying practices and their cross-practice service offerings to clients.

The article discusses revenue reporting requirements for firms under the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), which some use as a barometer of the amount of revenue generated by lobbying practices. Bates stressed that, while the LDA figures tend to be a top focus throughout the year, “there is a much larger story of what goes on in lobbying—particularly in a law firm setting like Akin Gump where you have a very large lobbying shop and a very large regulatory shop that work hand in hand.” He added that the firm’s policy lawyers spend a significant amount of their time collaborating with the its regulatory lawyers across myriad issues, which, “start out as lobbying but quickly turn into something regulatory, or the other way around,” Bates said.

From Pomper’s perspective, he describes himself as more of a business consultant than a lobbyist, as his clients are often seeking advice on substantive business issues, beyond just the advocacy aspects. He said, “more and more what companies are looking for is somebody who understands all of it holistically. [They want] somebody who really understands how all of these things interact together—the politics, the substance and the policy—because they all impact one another.”