'One big beautiful' lobbying effort propels law firms, K Street revenues
One firm, Ballard Partners, said its federal lobbying revenues rose more than 300% compared to the second quarter of 2024, and were up 47% from the first quarter of this year, reaching $20.6 million.
The firm's founder, Brian Ballard, was a top Florida fundraiser for Trump during the 2016 presidential election. Its connections to the second Trump administration include Pam Bondi, who worked at the Tallahassee-founded firm before she was tapped to serve as U.S. attorney general.
Two of the firm's largest second-quarter receipts came from Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. The two law firms each paid Ballard Partners $300,000 to lobby on matters related to employment practices, disclosures show. Both firms paid Ballard Partners $100,000 during the first quarter.
Kirkland and Simpson Thacher were among nine prominent firms that cut deals with the White House to evade Trump's crackdown on a swath of the legal industry. The firms did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their work with Ballard.
Ballard Partners declined to comment on its lobbying for the law firms. Ballard said in a statement the firm is "thankful for the unwavering trust our clients have shown in us."
Close behind Ballard in lobbying revenue was Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, which reported $18.51 million for the second quarter, a new record for the Denver-founded law firm showed. The firm's top clients include Bloom Energy and Apollo Global Management, both of which spent more than $250,000 to lobby on Trump's tax-and-spend bill, according to disclosures.
The bill, which made Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent and delivered new tax breaks, "occupied the time and attention of just about every committee in Congress," said Will Moschella, co-chair of Brownstein's government relations department.
Hunter Bates, co-head of Akin Gump's lobbying and public policy practice, in a statement cited the legislation as a "key growth driver" for the firm. Akin Gump reported $16.37 million in lobbying revenue, which Bates said was the firm's best second quarter ever.
Lobbying firm BGR Group said it earned $17.6 million during the second quarter, a 58% increase compared to the same quarter last year. Loren Monroe, who leads BGR's state and local advocacy practice, said it was the best quarter in the firm's 35-year history.
Cornerstone Government Affairs reported a revenue of $13.7 million, a 15% increase from last year.
Beyond the tax bill, U.S. trade and tariff policy continued to be a major focus for law and lobbying firms, lobbyists told Reuters. The Trump administration has set an August 1 deadline for countries to secure trade deals or face steep tariffs.
"It's hard to come up with a word to adequately describe how busy our trade team is on the issue of tariffs," Akin Gump's Bates told Reuters, noting the firm's May hire of Kelly Ann Shaw, a former Trump trade adviser.
Lobbyists in Washington are required to report revenue tied to the federal government each quarter under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
Companies, trade groups and other entities have continuously spent more money on lobbying since 2016, according to non-profit group OpenSecrets, which compiles lobbying records. In 2024, companies spent more than $4.44 billion to lobby Congress and federal agencies.
Companies have spent more than $1.26 billion on lobbying in 2025 as of May 14, with about 10% of that money coming from the pharmaceutical and health products industry, according to OpenSecrets. Internet and electronics manufacturing industries accounted for about 8% of lobbying spending in the same period.
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