K Street Files: Calling It Quits
Perkins Coie’s Bob Bauer is abandoning his well-read blog, Moresoftmoney hardlaw.com, to focus on his booming law practice. Bauer, President Barack Obama’s campaign lawyer, made his announcement on the Web site last week, writing that “the time available to me for writing has grown ever scarcer, but also that the time spent on daily blogging is lost to more extensive, fully considered treatment of election law issues.—
[IMGCAP(1)]“In the last years, I could (or tried to) manage both the more complete and formally presented pieces, in professional journals and on the site, and the quickly produced blogging that joins in the argument of the day,— Bauer wrote Tuesday. “Doing both, and doing them to any standard of reasonably consistent quality, are not now possible.—
In addition to his firm’s usual full client list of current Members and hopefuls — including Democrat Al Franken in his protracted court battle for a Minnesota Senate seat — Perkins Coie also recently landed the Democratic National Committee, a retainer worth $35,000 per month during the previous cycle.
All Aboard. The National Association of Manufacturers is calling its members to town next month to discuss “card check,— cap-and-trade and other hot-button issues with Congressional and administration leaders. According to the trade group, 200 members from companies large and small are expected to attend the May 6-7 event, which will include meetings with Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
Little Engine That Could. Qorvis Communications, owned in part by lobby shop Patton Boggs, raked in $35 million in fees last year — a 15 percent year-to-year increase — according to a recent compilation by the trade publication O’Dwyers PR Report. The 96-employee shop was one of two local public relations firms that cracked the publication’s top 10. APCO Worldwide, which has 569 employees, also grew by 15 percent and brought in $112.4 million.
Hoping for Some Good Will. Goodwill Industries International is headed to Washington, D.C., looking for a little generosity on the part of lawmakers.
Goodwill is blanketing Capitol Hill on Tuesday and Wednesday with more than 100 executives from 33 states.
The group has about 270 meetings with lawmakers set up, including Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and James Inhofe (R-Okla.), according to Goodwill spokeswoman Lauren Lawson.
The executives will be lobbying on several issues, including the Workforce Investment Act and funding for the Second Chance Act, a bill designed to help people returning back to the community after prison.
Coming Full Circle. Rational PR and the advertising firm Stevens and Schriefer Group are combing to form Rational 360, a bipartisan communications shop. The eight-partner firm counts Patrick Dorton, Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens as a part of its roster.
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