Drew Wilson
It’s that time again.
No, not holiday season, although the lobbyists working at the firms below will indeed have plenty of things to be thankful for next Thursday.
In addition to some crisp, cool air and pumpkin spice everything, November ushered in the next round of quarterly lobbying compensation reports.
As always, Florida Politics parsed all the data (and spent a few hours Googling how to use Excel) and is ready to deliver the definitive list of the top lobbying firms in the Sunshine State.
A reminder: Florida Politics estimates how much firms earn based on the middle number of the per-client ranges they 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.
The only major change for Q3: We’re expanding the list from Top 25 to Top 30.
With all that out of the way, here’s a rundown of the No. 30 through No. 26 firms’ third-quarter numbers.
No. 30: Jones Walker
With reports showing a combined $530,000 in pay, Jones Walker clinched a Top 30 spot in Florida Politics’ quarterly rankings.
Jones Walker is less than a year removed from its return to Florida’s capital city — it reopened its Tallahassee office on New Year’s Day with Marc Dunbar in the captain’s seat. Filling out the team are French Brown, Peter Dunbar, Martha Edenfield, Andres Malave, Chris Moya and Jennifer Ungru.
The July-through-September reporting period saw the firm collect $265,000 lobbying lawmakers and the same amount lobbying the executive branch.
Reports show the top-paying client in the Legislature was Florida Power & Light, which chipped in $25,000. City Parking, the Real Property Probate & Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Step Up for Students and The Williams Companies followed in the $15,000 bracket.
Aside from Step Up and FPL swapping pay brackets, Jones Walker’s executive branch report was largely identical to its legislative one.
Earnings fell between $250,000 and $500,000 on each report, indicating Jones Walker earned at least $500,000 in Q3. The firm’s top end estimate is $920,000.
No. 29: Becker & Poliakoff
The Becker team ceded its Top 25 spot last quarter but it didn’t fall far.
The South Florida-based firm reported an estimated $545,000 in pay across 81 legislative lobbying contracts, with Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated landing in the top spot with $35,000 in Q3 payments.
Bethune Cookman University and Florida Memorial University followed at $25,000 apiece.
Government Affairs practice chief Bernie Friedman led the 10-person team, which also includes former Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, Jose Fuentes, Yolanda Cash Jackson, Max Losner, Nicholas Matthews, Cody Rogers, LaToya Sheals, Bryony Swift and Jileah Wilder.
Beyond the clients at the top of the sheet, Becker represented many South Florida interests, many hailing from its home turf in Broward and nearby Miami-Dade. The list included Broward County Public Schools and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the city governments for South Miami, Homestead, Lauderdale Lakes, Lighthouse Point, Miami Springs, and North Lauderdale.
The firm’s executive branch report listed many of the same clients, but the only paid contract on that side of the fence was a $5,000 deal with Advanced Green Technologies.
Becker earned at least $500,000 from its Q1 clientele, with the firm’s top-end estimate coming in at around $810,000.
No. 28: Foley & Lardner
The four-person team at Foley & Lardner cracked the Top 30 last quarter with just shy of $600,000 in earnings.
Jason Allison, Mariah Barfield, Robert Hosay and Austin Neal listed about two dozen paid contracts on each report.
Foley & Lardner’s legislative compensation report shows 13 contracts at the $15,000 level with another 15 showing up at $5,000 for an estimated total of $270,000 earned lobbying lawmakers.
The firm’s executive branch report was heftier. Cisco Systems topped the list with a $25,000 payment, followed by 16 clients in the $15,000 bracket and a dozen at $5,000. The firm’s overall exec tally measured in at $325,000.
Foley & Lardner’s Q3 clientele included several well-known companies, such as Xerox, Verizon and Aetna. The firm is also dipping its toes into local government work via its contract with the Palm Beach County Tax Collector’s Office.
Foley & Lardner’s legislative and executive earnings both fell into the $250,000-to-$500,000 bracket, indicating the firm earned at least $500,000. The firm’s top end estimate is $880,000.
No. 27: Law Offices of Colleen J. MacAlister
Having hundreds of clients is nice for a firm’s bottom line, but sometimes all you need is one big contract.
That’s all it took for attorney Colleen Jane MacAlister to land her first appearance in Florida Politics’ lobby firm rankings — and she didn’t snag the No. 27 spot by a hair, either.
So, how’d MacAlister find her way into the rankings? By successfully ushering a claims bill through the budget process.
The Naples-based attorney and University of Miami School of Law alum represented Patricia Ermini, who was shot five times by a Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputy in what would euphemistically be called a “wellness check gone wrong.”
According to the narrative in the claims bill, Ermini’s daughter missed a call from her mother and when she wasn’t able to get her on the line after several attempts, she called the Sheriff’s Office and asked someone to swing by and make sure all was well.
When the LCSO came knocking in the dead of night, Ermini believed they were intruders, announced she had a gun, and made clear she was willing to use it. The situation escalated from there.
Perhaps MacAlister’s Top 30 performance is a one-time thing, but with such a big payday she could just as well catch the attention of an established firm looking for a claims bill ringer. Time will tell.
No. 26: PinPoint Results
The seven-person team at PinPoint Results landed the No. 26 spot after earning $630,000 last quarter.
Robert Beck, Bryan Cherry, Marti Coley, Vance Coley, Andrea Gheen, Tanya Jackson and Jason Maine represented 63 clients in the Legislature and reported earnings of $380,000.
The top-paying client on the firm’s legislative compensation report was HCA Healthcare at $35,000. The hospital company was followed by Florida Children’s Rights Coalition at $25,000, with 10 clients close behind in the $15,000-per-quarter bracket.
PinPoint’s executive branch report listed the same clients, though many paid slightly less. The leads were Capital Asphalt, Charis Healthcare Holdings, Independent Living Systems and David H. Melvin Inc., each of which chipped in $15,000.
According to the firm’s overall ranges, legislative receipts were in the $250,000-to-$500,000 bracket while executive earnings fell in the $100,000-to-$250,000 bracket, putting the firm’s earnings floor at $350,000. At the top end, PinPoint may have earned as much as $750,000.
