Minneapolis hires high-powered Patton Boggs to lobby for the city in Washington

Recently, the Minneapolis City Council opted to hire the international lobbying giant Patton Boggs to advocate for its interests at the nation’s Capitol. Patton Boggs, which is headquartered in Washington, D.C., is an old-school, heavy-hitter in political and corporate affairs, with offices scattered around the globe. The move falls in line with what many other medium-to-large-sized municipalities are doing to get federal dollars. In the past, the city has relied to a lesser extent on Lockridge Grindal Nauen, a local firm that it will continue to retain.

Increasing the city’s presence in Washington DC is bound to open more doors, city officials say, pointing out that the added leverage may be needed now more than ever, given the 2006 retirement of longtime Fifth District Rep. Martin Sabo, who was a high-ranking Democrat.

Minneapolis City Council member Betsy Hodges, who chairs the council’s Intergovernmental Relations committee, says she was struck by Patton Boggs’ depth and breadth of experience. “It has done a lot of work in many different areas and it has a deep pool of bipartisan talent from which to draw,” she notes. Further, transit and transportation issues, which are priorities for the city, are among the firm’s “big strengths and they’ll focus their work in that,” she adds.

Less enthused is Council president Barbara Johnson, who expressed disappointment that Lockridge Grindal, which vied for the $144,000, year-long contract, was not better rewarded for its past performance. “It has stuck with us through thick and thin,” she says, adding that Lockridge Grindal once accepted a pay cut owing to budget constraints. “It has done a good job for us and it’s disconcerting that there’s not more recognition of that.” (An ironic twist: When the city initially hired Lockridge Grindal, it did so contrary to the then-staff’s recommendation of Patton Boggs, according to Johnson.)

More about Patton Boggs: James R. Patton Jr., George Blow and Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. established the law firm in 1962. Since then, it has grown into a “full-service firm with a national presence in every major area of legal representation, and [has] developed our business law expertise — secured transactions, public offerings, financial services,” its website reads.

Further, it has played a role in the “formation of every major multilateral trade agreement considered by Congress,” and was one of the first to see lobbying opportunities within all three branches of government, the pitch continues.

The firm specializes in international and trade law. It has more than 200 clients, which come from over 70 countries and it is well-connected to each major U.S. political party in addition to the private sector. One example: Patton Boggs attorney Robert Luskin represents Karl Rove, the former adviser to President George W. Bush, among many other Who’s Who types. In comparison to other firms of its caliber, Patton Boggs has one of the most diverse dossiers, with agribusiness (including tobacco firms) accounting for the greatest chunk of revenue, according to opensecrets.org.

Patton Boggs counts among its top clients Minnesota-based 3M Company, along with Pacific Lumber and Shipping, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, Mars Inc., Dole Food Company and Soros Equity Partners. (For a list of its lobbying disclosures, go here.) Denver, San Diego and Buffalo are some of the cities it is working for.

Its reach extends far beyond the U.S. It advocated for Kuwait and approval for the 2004 U.S.-Kuwait Free Trade Agreement, for instance, as noted in SourceWatch. It also represented the government of Cameroon with the U.S. Congress and financial organizations. In recent years, it started a reconstruction practice in Iraq. (This summer it expanded its offices in the Middle East.)

Patton Boggs has regularly found itself at the center of political controversy. For example, its involvement with an American PR campaign for Saudi Arabia following the 9/11 attacks triggered an FBI investigation and the stepping down of one of the partners, The New York Sun reported. Its work for Metabolife International, a company that makes vitamin supplements that have been deemed unsafe, has also been scrutinized.

Despite its checkered associations, City Council member Elizabeth Glidden, an attorney, is pro-Patton Boggs, cautioning against “mixing up the firm and its clients …such a large firm is going to have an array of clients.” Instead, “We need to be sure we’re doing all the right things to be as competitive as other cities of our size. Minnesota as a whole hasn’t capitalized enough on federal funding.”

Though its contract was still being negotiated as of press time, Patton Boggs’ responsibilities to Minneapolis will be to provide counsel on federal grants as they pertain to “tracking opportunities, monitoring applications and advocating on the city’s behalf,” according to a report prepared by city staff. The firm is also charged with developing and implementing the city’s federal agenda, including earmarks, authorizations and policy proposals.

It will cooperate with Lockridge Grindal, which will concentrate on airport noise, transportation and water, and continue to “work closely with the state’s congressional delegation and will play a major role in implementing the city’s transportation policy and project proposals,” the staff report states. The two firms previously collaborated on the city’s empowerment zone program.

Gene Ranieri, director of the city’s Intergovernmental Relations Department, says a new presidential administration will usher in plenty of lobbying opportunities. It will be helpful to have reinforcements, he says, adding, “Patton Boggs has a good relationship with Congress and the [Minnesota] delegation as well.” Some of its priorities in the coming year are related to reauthorization of the transportation bill, appropriations, youth violence and housing issues, among others, he pointed out.

Minnesota political analyst David Schultz agrees. “I think it’s a smart strategic move to leverage money for economic development, infrastructure or anything else [the city] might need,” he says. “I think the decision is driven by pragmatics.”