Thompson Coburn's government affairs shop in the past five days has registered to lobby for its first three clients since it opened its doors in February.
The firm's lobbying and policy group in Washington is advocating for Overstock.com Inc., semiconductor manufacturer STMicroelectronics Inc. and the Association for Information Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education, according to paperwork the shop filed with Congress.
The organizations in 2012 were clients of Dow Lohnes Government Strategies, which Thompson partners Kenneth Salomon, James Burger and Christopher Murray, as well as senior manager of government affairs Haley Davis, left to form Thompson's lobbying and policy group. Prior to the shop's opening, Thompson this year only was registered to lobby for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The Association, which Salomon represented at Dow Lohnes, wasn't engaged in lobbying before 2013. This year, Salomon has registered to lobby for the group on "[t]elecommunications, public safety and data security issues affecting higher education institutions," a filing with Congress shows.
Salomon, the chairman of Thompson's lobbying and policy group, said he and his colleagues are "very busy" at the firm. "I think we're off to a great start," he said.
Salomon said the lobbying and policy group this year is planning to register to lobby for more clients, including healthcare communications company Innovate Wireless Health and student loan servicer Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority (MOHELA), which is already a client of St. Louis-based Thompson.
Signing MOHELA as a lobbying client is a good indication "of how we're integrating with the law firm," he said.
In addition to the former Dow Lohnes lobbyists, the firm's lobbying and policy group includes former Senator Christopher "Kit" Bond (R-Mo.), John Cullerton and Jane Sutter Starke, all of whom are partners at the firm.
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