Holland & Knight lost a $320,000-per-year contract with Google Inc. when one of its lobbyists on the account left the firm last month, according to a lobbying termination report filed with Congress this week.
The firm stopped lobbying for Google on September 30, the day before John Buscher joined Forbes-Tate as a senior vice president. Buscher, who spent nearly nine years as a senior policy adviser at Holland & Knight, most recently handled the Google account with partner Kathryn Lehman and senior policy adviser Kerry Feehery.
It is unclear whether Buscher will lobby for Google at Forbes-Tate.
Holland & Knight was among 19 firms Google hired last year to lobby for it. In 2011, debate in Washington began to heat up over the company’s privacy policies and online dominance. Media outlets reported last week that Federal Trade Commission staffers are close to recommending that the agency sue Google over allegations that the company has suppressed competition through its Internet search dominance and caused online advertising prices to rise.
The team of lobbyists from Holland & Knight advocated for Google on competition and privacy issues, among other matters, according to congressional records. Holland & Knight received $430,000 from Google during the 16 months since the firm submitted lobbying registration paperwork for the company.
Google devoted $8.95 million to its federal lobbying during the first half of this year. In 2011, it spent $9.68 million.
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