The unpredictability that has come to embody the past month on the Hill, with surprising events such as Speaker Boehner’s (R-Ohio) decision to resign from Congress, appears to have been replicated on K Street during the third quarter producing a mixed bag of Q3 results. Some major firms such as Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Capitol Counsel and K&L Gates saw reduced fees compared to Q3 2014. According to The Hill, “the third quarter this year brought K&L Gates a 3 percent decrease compared with 2014’s third-quarter numbers. Brownstein’s fees took a 1 percent dip, and Capitol Counsel’s fell 8 percent.” However, this was not a trend across the board. Taking advantage of the Republican Party’s control of Congress, two all-Republican firms saw Q3 increases when compared to the same period last year. CGCN Group and Fierce Government Affairs saw 37% and 11% boosts, respectively.
Moreover, a successful third quarter was not solely limited to Republican aligned firms. The Hill reports that “Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld …took in its highest third-quarter numbers ever. The firm earned $9.73 million in lobbying fees over the last three months, a 10 percent increase compared with the same period last year.” Similarly, Van Scoyoc Associates, BGR Group and Holland & Knight also all saw modest growth during 2015’s third quarter.
Despite a mixed bag of results for Q3 on K Street, many remain optimistic with a busy winter ahead of Congress including activities related to trade, cybersecurity and the budget. As previously reported by Lobby Blog, the Trans-Pacific Partnership has been a major focus for those on K Street with 56 of the top 100 lobbying spenders since 2008 have lobbied on TPP at least once during that period. According to Stu Van Scoyoc, the president and chief executive at Van Scoyoc Associates “We continue to be optimistic and continue to work with our clients. Despite all the turmoil and all the chaos at the moment, we’ll find the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Below is a list of the third quarter’s top 10 biggest lobbying registrants in terms of revenue and clients in terms of spending as reported by Politico.
Biggest registrants:
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($16.02 million)
- Akin Gump ($9.7M)
- National Association of Realtors ($7.52M)
- Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck ($6.26M)
- Squire Patton Boggs: $6.13M
- National Association of Manufacturers ($5.98)
- Podesta Group ($5.75)
- Van Scoyoc Associates ($5.22M)
- U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform ($5.07M)
- Holland & Knight: ($5.045M)
Biggest clients:
- U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($16.02 million)
- National Association of Realtors ($7.52M)
- National Association of Manufacturers ($5.98)
- U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform ($5.07M)
- American Medical Association ($4.28M)
- American Bankers Association ($4.26M)
- PhRMA ($4.24M)
- American Hospital Association ($4.02M)
- National Association of Broadcasters ($3.93M)
- Google ($3.65)
