Drew Wilson
Florida Politics’ countdown of the top lobbying firms has made it to the big leagues.
The second quarter saw every firm ranked No. 16 and up cross the $1 million mark. The Top 10 firms upped the minimum by another $500,000, and those sitting just outside of the Top 5 were among the elite few to cross $2 million.
Those just now tuning in to Florida Politics’ countdown can check out our reports on the No. 25-No. 21, No. 20-No.16 and No. 15-No. 11 firms, which were published earlier this week. If you don’t care about spoilers, Florida Politics’ Lobby Firm Rankings page has the raw numbers.
As in past lobbying compensation stories, the revenue estimates below represent the sum of the middle number of the per-client ranges firms list on their compensation reports. Firms report contracts in $10,000 increments. Compensation reports also include firm-level ranges, giving outsiders a rough idea of their minimum and maximum earnings.
No. 10: Metz Husband & Daughton
The nine-member team at Metz Husband & Daughton earned an estimated $1.67 million in the second quarter.
Warren Husband and James Daughton worked alongside lobbyists Doug Bell, Leslie Dughi, Anna Lewis, Allison Liby-Schoonover, Aimee Lyon, Andy Palmer and Karl Rasmussen to represent nearly 100 clients.
One of those clients, Amscot Financial, broke through the cap on range reporting by paying the firm $51,000 for help in the Legislature.
The No. 2 spot went to Attorneys’ Title Fund Services at $35,000, followed by more than a dozen contracts listed in the $25,000 bracket.
At $25,000, The Everglades Trust was the firm’s top-paying executive branch client. The exec report listed Alteryx, Barron Collier Partnership, bluebird bio, Carr Riggs & Ingram, Curaleaf Florida and Ecosystem Investment Partners at $15,000 apiece, with the remaining contracts falling into the up-to-$10,000 bracket.
The overall range listed on MHD’s reports shows it earned $1 million or more in legislative pay and between $250,000 and $500,000 in executive pay, meaning it earned at least $1.25 million in Q2. The firm’s top-end estimate is $2.09 million.
No. 9: The Advocacy Partners
The team at The Advocacy Partners collected an estimated $1.84 million in Q2.
Slater Bayliss, Christopher Chaney, Darya Massoudi, Alex Poitras, Steve Schale, Stephen Shiver, Sarah Suskey and Jeff Woodburn represented 106 clients in the second quarter, reporting median earnings of $850,000 in the Legislature and $985,000 in the executive branch.
The Advocacy Partners’ top legislative clients for the quarter were Palladium Investment Partners and Rising Phoenix Holding Company, the parent company of disaster management firms Tidal Basin and Tidal Basin Caribe. Each paid $35,000 for the quarter.
The firm’s $25,000-per-quarter clients included BlueGreen U.S. Water Technologies, TECO Energy, Google’s autonomous vehicle spinoff Waymo and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
The Advocacy Partners’ executive branch report included $35,000 contracts with Paylt, Palladium Investment Partners, Tidal Basin Group and Eightfold AI, a platform that uses artificial intelligence to match job candidates with open positions.
Overall, The Advocacy Partners reported earning between $500,000 and $1 million on each of its compensation reports, meaning it earned at least $1 million and may have earned as much as $2 million in the second quarter.
No. 8: Greenberg Traurig
The team at national law firm Greenberg Traurig continued its streak as a Top 10 firm with Q2 compensation reports totaling $1.97 million.
The firm’s second-quarter team consisted of Roger Beaubien, Christian Brito, Gus Corbella, Hayden Dempsey, Fred Karlinsky and Timothy Stanfield. They handled the needs of 90 clients in the Legislature and more than 100 in the executive branch.
GT Law’s legislative compensation report was topped by six clients that paid $45,000 apiece: Baptist Health South Florida, Centauri Specialty Insurance, Guy Carpenter & Company, Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Slide Insurance Holdings and Slide MGA. They were followed by Apartment Income REIT Corp., Humana Medical Plan, MASA Global and the Seminole Tribe of Florida in the $35,000 bracket.
Centauri, Heritage and both Slide subsidiaries tied for the No. 1 spot on the executive branch report as well, with each company chipping in another $45,000. The exec list also shows seven $25,000 contracts with clients including McKinsey & Company and most of the top contributors from the firm’s legislative report.
Based on the overall ranges listed on GT’s reports, the firm earned at least $1.5 million in lobbying fees last quarter. At the top end, the firm could have earned as much as $2.54 million.
No. 7: Corcoran Partners
Corcoran Partners held on to the No. 7 spot it secured in Q1 with an estimated $2.11 million in receipts last quarter.
The firm led by Michael Corcoran represented more than 100 clients in Q2, collecting $1.44 million lobbying lawmakers and another $673,000 lobbying the Governor, Cabinet and state agencies.
In addition to Corcoran, the second-quarter team included Jacqueline Corcoran, Noah Corcoran, Matt Blair, Brian Ford, Samantha Sexton Greer, Helen Levine, Bethany McAlister, Will Rodriguez and Andrea Tovar.
Corcoran Partners’ No. 1 client last quarter was Fontainebleau Development, a South Florida-based luxury real estate development company. It paid Corcoran Partners $136,000 in Q2 — $68,000 on each report. The Florida Optometric Association followed at $120,000, split evenly between Corcoran Partners’ legislative and executive branch reports.
In addition to the six-figure clients, the firm represents dozens of well-known companies and institutions such as the University of South Florida, Verizon, Walmart, Florida Crystals, Nova Southeastern University and the Philadelphia Phillies, one of many teams that hold spring training in the Sunshine State.
Overall, Corcoran Partners earned at least $1 million in legislative lobbying pay and between $500,000 and $1 million in executive branch lobbying pay, meaning it earned no less than $1.5 million in Q2. Based on per-client ranges, the firm could have earned as much as $2.93 million.
No. 6: Ronald L. Book PA
The lobbying firm led by Ron Book may not be in the Top 5 anymore, but the lean crew once again proved that team size doesn’t matter by posting the highest revenue-per-lobbyist reports in the biz.
Book and lobbying partners Rana Brown, Kelly Mallette and Gabriela Navarro represented 100-plus clients during the reporting period, amassing $2.12 million in legislative lobbying revenues and tacking on an additional $500,000 lobbying the executive branch for a grand total of $2.62 million in Q2.
Of note: If Florida Politics were counting down the Top 25 firms by legislative revenues, Book & Co. would have landed at No. 4.
Two contracts on the firm’s legislative compensation report measured in at $100,000 or more. Title Clerk Consulting Company provided the biggest payday at $166,000 for the quarter, followed by Ashbritt at $100,000.
A handful of other clients beat the $50,000 cap on range reporting, Martin Property Holdings Co. 1, Performance Title Services, Miami Project/Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis and Miami-Dade County.
Ashbritt was at the top of the executive branch report with another $100,000 payment. Bright Health Group was a distant No. 2 at $35,000 followed by Reveam in the $25,000 bracket.
Overall, Book’s team reported earning no less than $1 million in legislative lobbying pay and between $250,000 and $500,000 in executive branch pay. At the top end, the firm may have earned as much as $3.06 million.
