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Thursday, September 29, 2005

Law - Ohio Firm Seeks to Join the Bigs in Election Law

On Tuesday the ILB wrote that Terre Haute attorney James Bopp, Jr., who has a national campaign finance and election law practice, has, as of the U.S. Supreme Court's announcements Tuesday, two important campaign finance cases pending before the Court this term. (See also this coverage from the following day.)

Today the "Special Interests" column in the Washington Post has an item titled "Ohio Firm Seeks to Join the Bigs in Election Law" that does not mention the Republican-oriented Indiana firm, but does mention an Ohio wanna-be. Some quotes:

Campaign finance and election law certainly seems a natural specialty for a Washington law firm, but there are only a handful of major players: Wiley Rein , Perkins Coie , Skadden Arps , Patton Boggs most often come to mind.

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease , an Ohio-based firm, wants to join their ranks -- and is making a big splash with the signing of Bradley A. Smith , the former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

The firm had already made a commitment to growing the practice when in the past year it hired Brett G. Kappel , a longtime election-law specialist, to join Randal C . Teague in Washington. Kappel and Teague also lobby, but Smith says he has no plans to do so.

Smith, who worked at the firm before joining the FEC, and Joseph D. Lonardo , managing partner of the D.C. office, say the plan is to create a bipartisan group. They note that Wiley Rein is known for its Republican lawyers and Perkins Coie for its Democrats.

Smith, a Republican, has been known for his strong criticism of much of federal campaign finance regulation. But he says he would be willing to represent Democratic and liberal clients and notes that left-wing bloggers were pleased with his opposition to regulation of their Internet activities.

"By nature, most of what you do . . . is help the client to comply with the law," Smith said. "You better have an argument that fits with law, not with what you would like it to be."

Lonardo said some of the firm's big corporate clients are concerned about complying with the complicated McCain-Feingold campaign finance law enacted in March 2002.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on September 29, 2005 07:55 AM
Posted to General Law Related