Drew Wilson
Law and lobbying firm Becker & Poliakoff earned brought in an estimated $775,000 last quarter, new compensation reports show.
Becker lobbyists Bernie Friedman, Ellyn Bogdanoff, Jose Fuentes, Yolanda Cash Jackson, Max Losner, Nicholas Matthews, Cody Rogers and LaToya Sheals represented about 90 clients in Q1, pulling in most of their lobbying the Legislature.
Florida Politics estimates lobbying pay based on the middle number of the per-client ranges firms list on their compensation reports. Contracts are reported in $10,000 increments up to $50,000.
Becker’s legislative lobbying compensation report shows $765,000 in receipts. The top spot was split between the Florida Taxicab Association, Miami-Dade Expressway Authority and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, a Boston-based company that is a component of the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100.
Each paid Becker $35,000 for legislative lobbying work last quarter.
Bethune Cookman University, Florida Memorial University and Cape Coral’s city were listed in the $25,000 bracket, followed by about two dozen contracts worth an estimated $15,000 each.
The list includes numerous local government interests, most of them in South Florida where Becker is headquartered. Among them were the cities of Lauderdale Lakes, Miami Springs, North Lauderdale and South Miami. Other include Broward County Public Schools and Broward County Sheriff’s Office.
Becker also filed an executive branch lobbying report that listed mostly the same clients, however all but two were marked down as unpaid contracts in Q1. The paid executive branch contracts were with Advanced Green Technologies and Quest Management Group, both of which chipped in $5,000.
According to Becker’s legislative compensation report, the firm earned no less than $500,000 lobbying lawmakers last quarter. It may have earned as much as $1 million.
Founded in Ft. Lauderdale in the 1970s, Becker recently celebrated its 50th anniversary. Since its founding, the firm has grown to include 11 offices across the state with additional locations in New York, New Jersey and D.C.
Florida lobbyists and lobbying firms faced a May 15 deadline to file compensation reports for the period covering Jan. 1 through May. 31. Compensation reports for the second quarter are due to the state on Aug. 14.
