With Nicholas Allard, Patton Boggs's lobbying, political and election law practice chairman, set to become the dean of Brooklyn Law School, at least one of his firm's lobbyists is eyeing his office.
Allard, who will start at the law school on July 1, declined to comment on whether Kevin O’Neill, the firm's public policy department deputy chairman, is his likely successor as chairman. But Allard joked that he was "a little disturbed" to see O'Neill take measurements of his office this week.
“He is certainly looking at my office,” said Allard, who intends to stay on as a senior attorney at Patton when he starts at Brooklyn Law School.
Patton Managing Partner Edward Newberry said O’Neill “certainly could be a good candidate to fill that role.” But he also declined to comment on who the leading candidate for the post is, saying the firm has yet to discuss who will assume the job.
Neither O’Neill nor Darryl Nirenberg, the lobbying practice’s deputy chairman, immediately responded to requests for comment.
O’Neill, a onetime Republican U.S. House candidate in Virginia, focuses on matters related to education, transportation and health care at the firm. He lobbied last year for Patton clients that included Richmond, Va.; Baylor University; and pharmaceutical manufacturer Genetech Inc., according to congressional records. O'Neill, who was on The National Law Journal's "40 under 40" list in 2009, joined Patton in 2000.
Whoever will take Allard’s post will help oversee one of the biggest lobbying practices in Washington.
Patton last year placed second on The National Law Journal’s Influence 50 list of top lobby shops, including those within law firms. The firm’s 121 lobbyists helped bring $88.5 million in gross revenue from lobbying work in 2010, according to the data used for last year’s Influence 50 list. Patton’s 2010 revenue posting was a 13.3 percent increase from 2009.
News of Allard's departure broke today. The National Law Journal's Karen Sloan examines what his presence at Brooklyn Law School means for the institution here.
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