Ryan Ray
The law firm of Metz Husband & Daughton was born in Tallahassee, and there it thrived last quarter, collecting an estimated $1.5 million in lobbying fees according to recently filed compensation reports.
Looking at the firm’s report for the second quarter of 2015, which ran from April 1 and June 30, it’s not hard to see which of their 98 lobbying contracts was the most lucrative: Collier Resources‘ $100,000 legislative lobbying contract jumps off the page.
The Naples-based energy extraction firm also paid between $30,000 and $39,999 for executive branch representation.
Other top-paying firms during Q2 included The Florida Bar, which paid between $30,000 and $39,999 for both lobbying and executive lobbying services for a total of about $70,000 and payday lenders Amscot Financial, which brought in about $60,000 to the firm.
Interests who paid between the range $20,000 and $29,999 for legislative lobbying included:
- Attorneys’ Title Fund Services
- Sunshine Health Florida
- Associated General Contractors Council
- Florida Physical Therapy Association
- Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
- National Association of Vision Care Plans
- Siemens Corp.
- Walt Disney Parks and Resorts
Those clients each paid about same fees for executive branch representation, as did the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation.
Additional notable clients with international profiles were Microsoft, Bristol-Myers Squibb, American Express and the Mayo Clinic.
Altogether, the firm was compensated to the tune of some $800,000 for legislative branch work and $725,000 for executive lobbying.
All three of the firm’s “name” partners — Stephen Metz, Warren Husband and James Daughton — were all registered to lobby on their client’s behalf last quarter, as were Gregory Black, Patricia Greene, Aimee Lyon and Andrew Palmer.
State law requires lobbying firms to submit compensation reports quarterly. They are permitted in most cases to simply report an approximate range of client compensation — e.g. $1 – $9,999 — in lieu of the specific dollar amount.
