Virtually every sector of the economy is affected by decisions made by government bodies. Organizations that are aware of and can help shape government decisions have a competitive edge. To achieve their goals, companies and other organizations need timely and relevant information and the ability to identify and access the right government officials when issues and proposed legislation or regulations that might affect them arise.
The K&L Gates policy group operates at the intersection of public policy, law, and business. Founded four decades ago, at a time when few law firms had lobbying practices, the policy group has grown from a single lobbyist to become the largest of any fully integrated global law firm. In August 2012, K&L Gates was ranked among the top five law firms in the National Law Journal's Influence 50 survey.
The team’s successes are built on a philosophy that emphasizes a deeply substantive and teamwork-based approach to public policy. Our goal is to understand a policy issue from every direction – substantively and politically – and to use the collective knowledge and experience of our team to help a client achieve its objectives. This approach has worked for four decades, which is why the policy group has thrived through eight administrations and 21 Congresses. Likewise, our state policy practice can effectively meet clients' needs in states with dynamic political climates.
The Public Policy and Law group has nearly 50 bipartisan lawyers and policy professionals with 500 years of combined experience in federal and state government. We also help solve clients’ policy and regulatory needs around the globe with offices in world capitals in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Our state policy practice has a strategic geographic footprint, with regional headquarters in Pennsylvania, Texas, and North Carolina. Our members include:
- James Walsh, former U.S. congressman from central New York;
- Bart Gordon, former U.S. congressman from Tennessee;
- Emanuel Rouvelas, former U.S. Senate Commerce Committee counsel and top Democratic lobbyist;
- Dick Thornburgh, former attorney general of the United States and the former governor of Pennsylvania; and
- Numerous others, including the former general counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency; a Democratic National Committee member; the chief counsel of the Senate Finance Committee; the chief trade counsel of the Senate Finance Committee; and White House officials, congressional committee counsels, senior executive branch officials, congressional chiefs of staff, leadership staff, senior counsel at various government agencies, senior gubernatorial aides, military officials, and others.