US lobbying firms see early revenue boost in Trump's second term

Reuters

24-04-2025

April 24 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to [e-mail], opens new tab)
Top firms in Washington, D.C., are reporting an influx of lobbying dollars as companies, industry groups and others navigate President Donald Trump's second term in office and a Republican-controlled Congress.
U.S. law firm Akin said the first quarter of 2025 was its strongest ever for lobbying revenue. It brought in $16.4 million, an 18.75% increase from the first quarter of 2024.
Trump's aggressive moves on tariffs and trade have made it critical for companies to have a voice in Washington, said Brian Pomper, the co-leader of Akin's lobbying and public policy practice.
"For the first time, trade really is a C-suite issue," Pomper said. He said he has never been busier in his 20-year lobbying career.
Lobbyists in Washington are required to report revenue tied to the federal government each quarter under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
Pomper said Trump's policies on trade, tax and healthcare issues are also generating large amounts of non-lobbying work for the law firm that is not subject to the disclosure law.
Ballard Partners also had a big first quarter. The lobbying firm pulled in $14 million, a 225% increase from the first quarter of 2024, according to Politico Influence. Partners at Ballard did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ballard's connections to the Trump administration include Pam Bondi, who worked at the Tallahassee-founded firm before she was tapped to serve as U.S. attorney general. Ballard's president has been a top Florida fundraiser for Republican candidates, including Trump in 2016.
Two major law firms — Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher — each paid Ballard Partners $100,000 during the first quarter to lobby on matters related to employment practices, disclosures show.
Kirkland and Simpson Thacher were among nine prominent firms that cut deals with the White House to avoid getting hit with an executive order seeking to curtail business operations.
Ballard was also hired in January to represent the Harvard University governing body known as the Harvard Corporation. Trump since his inauguration has cracked down on top U.S. universities, saying they mishandled last year's pro-Palestinian protests and allowed antisemitism to fester on campuses. Harvard sued this week to block the White House from freezing billions of dollars in federal funding.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, another law firm with a leading lobbying practice, said its first-quarter work was driven partly by higher education clients. The firm reported earning $16.8 million in the first quarter of 2025, a 3.5% increase from the same quarter last year.
The firm is representing the University of Colorado and DePaul University, according to disclosure filings.
"Our team understands the complexities and risks facing colleges and universities right now with the new administration's executive orders," Nadeam Elshami, the co-chair of Brownstein's government relations department, said in a statement.
Two other firms — BGR Group and Cornerstone Government Affairs — also reported year-over-year increases for the quarter. BGR Group said it brought in $14.6 million in revenue, while Cornerstone reported $13.6 million.
Holland & Knight, another U.S. law firm with a lobbying practice, reported $13 million in lobbying revenue for the first quarter of 2025, a 5.4% increase from the first quarter of 2024.
Companies, trade groups and other entities have continuously spent more money on lobbying since 2016, according to the non-profit group OpenSecrets, which compiles lobbying records. In 2024, companies spent more than $4.43 billion to lobby Congress and federal agencies.
-- The National Abortion Federation is entitled to recover legal fees and costs from the conservative Center for Medical Progress and other defendants in a long-running lawsuit in federal court in California, an appeals court ruled, opens new tab on Wednesday.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's orders awarding millions of dollars in fees to the abortion rights advocate in its battle over an activist's secretly recorded videos.
The court panel said the fact that lawyers for the National Abortion Federation were working pro bono did not change the legal analysis for awarding fees. The federation and Center for Medical Progress did not immediately respond to requests for comment.