The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Akin Ushers Japan into Trade Treaty Talks

With U.S. support for Japan's entry into negotiations for a pan-Pacific free-trade pact announced last week, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld had a reason to celebrate.

Under a $600,000-per-year contract with Japan, Akin had lobbied U.S. government officials since November 2011 for the country's admission to the talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which is intended to eliminate import tariffs. The United States and eight other nations also are participating in the discussions.

"We're excited," said Akin partner Scott Parven, who leads about a dozen Akin lobbyists handling the account.

New Brownstein Practice Focuses on Energy, Natural Resources Clients

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has started a new Washington-based practice focused on legal, lobbying and strategy services for energy and natural resources clients, the firm announced Wednesday.

The new practice will explore "complex infrastructure and policy matters that require a multi-disciplined approach," the firm said. Brownstein shareholder David Bernhardt, a former U.S. Interior Department solicitor, will lead the group, which has more than two dozen members located in the firm's Washington office and outposts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

Bernhardt will receive assistance in D.C. from Brownstein shareholder Lawrence Jensen and of counsel Ryan Smith, as well as policy directors Luke Johnson, Elizabeth Gore and Jon Hrobsky, all of whom have experience working in the federal government on environmental issues. Jensen and Johnson are new hires whom the firm picked up within the past two months.

Blank Rome Signs to Lobby for Best Buy

Best Buy Co. Inc. has hired Blank Rome's lobbying subsidiary to help push for legislation that would allow states to collect sales taxes from online and catalog retailers located anywhere in the United States.

Blank Rome Government Relations principals Shimon Stein and J. Michael Hogan, who work on tax policy among other matters at the firm, are advocating for the Richfield, Minn.-based electronics retailer on the Marketplace Fairness Act, according to lobbying registration paperwork filed with Congress on Tuesday.

The bill, which died in a committee during the last Congress, was reintroduced in February and has the necessary support to overcome a potential filibuster. On a 75-24 vote last month, the legislation passed the U.S. Senate as an amendment to the chamber's non-binding fiscal 2014 budget resolution, showing that the measure has the requisite 60 votes to get an up-or-down vote.

Sen. Tim Kaine’s Congressional Campaign Chair Joins Venable

Venable has hired a close confidant of Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) for its government affairs group, the law firm announced Monday.

Lawrence Roberts, who most recently advised Kaine on the senator's transition to Congress after his election in November, joined Venable as a partner in its Washington and Tysons Corner, Va., offices. He will focus on Virginia-related matters concerning transportation and telecommunications, among other issues.

Roberts said Venable has a strong government affairs practice and Tysons Corner office, where he said he will spend about 75 percent of this time.

The Morning Wrap

'Iron Lady': Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher has died after a stroke, the BBC reports. She was 87.

More Jobs: The legal sector picked up 2,000 positions in March, The Am Law Daily reports. This was the highest single-month gain in almost a year.

'No Poach': A federal judge in San Francisco on Friday denied class certification to the plaintiffs in the "no poach" litigation against tech behemoths including Google Inc. and Apple Inc., The Recorder reports. The plaintiffs allege that the companies had negotiated a series of agreements that restrained competition for highly skilled employees.

Former Arkansas U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln to Lobby for Wal-Mart

Former Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) of Alston & Bird officially has entered the world of Washington lobbyists, picking up her home state's biggest company as her first client.

Lincoln, who joined Alston in 2011 as a special policy adviser after leaving Congress, is working with Alston senior policy adviser Robert Holifield to advocate for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., according to lobbying registration paperwork filed with Congress on Thursday. Under federal law, former senators must complete a two-year "cooling-off" period before they can traverse Capitol Hill as lobbyists.

The duo is representing Wal-Mart on "[m]atters of importance to the retail industry," the registration filing says. The registration paperwork doesn't provide any other details about the work.

Government Report Examines 'Political Intelligence,' But Questions Remain

Updated 5:33 p.m.

A highly anticipated report published today by the investigative arm of Congress addresses the murky arena of "political intelligence" but leaves unanswered many questions about the size and power of the shadowy Washington information gathering industry.

The report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office targets the role of political intelligence in financial markets. The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, an effort to stop members of Congress from benefitting personally on insider information, required the accountability office to release the report.

The act defines political intelligence as information "derived by a person from direct communications with an executive branch employee, a Member of Congress, or an employee of Congress; and provided in exchange for financial compensation to a client who intends, and who is known to intend, to use the information to inform investment decisions."

Covington Adds Former House Judiciary Lawyer to Lobbying Practice

The former staff director and chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee has joined the lobby shop at Covington & Burling.

Richard Hertling, who spent time on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Justice Department, joins as of counsel in the public policy and government affairs practice. His arrival bolsters Covington's practice, which recently added Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Representative Howard Berman (D-Calif.) to its stable of lobbyists.

Hertling clerked for Judge Henry Politz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after completing law school. He later was a trial attorney for three years in the Civil Division of DOJ and served on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff. During his seven years with the committee, Hertling was chief counsel and staff director for three subcommittees.

Lloyd’s of London Taps Patton Boggs Lobby Team

Lloyd's of London has enlisted Patton Boggs to lobby for it in Washington, expanding the insurance market's stable of U.S. lobbying firms to three.

The insurance market, which doesn't have in-house lobbyists in Washington, entered 2013 with only Arnold & Porter and Gibbons & Co. in D.C. for lobbying before it picked up Patton, congressional records show. Lloyd's hired Patton to advocate on "[i]ssues with respect to insurance generally and financial services," according to lobbying registration paperwork filed with Congress on Tuesday.

Patton partner Micah Green, senior policy adviser Vincent Frillici and associate Daris Meeks, who all focus on financial services and tax matters, are handling the Lloyd's account. None of them were immediately available for comment, and Patton spokesman Elliott Frieder declined to elaborate on the firm’s services beyond the information that was disclosed in the registration filing.

Most Lobbyists Following Disclosure Rules, Government Report Says

Most lobbyists abided by key reporting requirements between midyear 2011 and midyear 2012, with compliance generally consistent with the past, according to a U.S. Government Accountability Office review released Monday.

At least 74 percent of lobbying disclosure filings and political contribution reports that lobbyists are required to file met six compliance requirements the GAO highlighted in its annual survey of the influence industry's reporting obligations. Changes in compliance levels amounted to less than 12 percent in either direction for any category.

Along the way, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, which prosecutes lobbyist scofflaws, has reached settlements with three lobbying firms since 2011. Senior officials also are set to review a request to pursue criminal or civil charges against two, unnamed lobbyist organizations, according to the GAO.