Large law firms say lobbying is a key element to providing full array of services

Many of Indiana’s largest law firms find it imperative to offer government lobbying for their clients in order to provide a full line of services.

That’s especially true in Indianapolis, the state’s capital city and home to all of state government, including the Indiana General Assembly.

“I would say that you cannot call yourself a full-service law firm any longer, whether it’s in Indiana or another state, if you don’t have a public affairs capacity and the expertise to help solve client’s problems,” said John Hammond III, a partner in Taft Stettinius & Hollister’s public affairs strategy group.

Without having that capacity, Hammond said, law firms are likely to lose clients.

Andrew Miller, who is not a lawyer but leads the public affairs arm of Bose McKinney & Evans, said lobbying is a natural extension for many lawyers because they often deal with the impact of new laws enacted by the Legislature.

“To be a full-service law firm and have the ability to participate in that part of the lawmaking process is certainly a benefit to your clients,” Miller said.

Bose and Taft have the largest lobbying presence of any law firms or independent multi-client lobbying practices this year at the Indiana General Assembly, which kicked off its 2025 legislative session last week.

As of Jan. 9, each firm had 13 lobbyists registered to work with the Legislature, according to Indiana Lawyer’s review of forms filed with the Indiana Lobby Registration Commission.

Each has a mix of lawyers and non-lawyers representing dozens of clients.

Lobbying has been a growing business in most state capital cities for the past 15 years or so as the federal government has ceded some responsibilities to the states and government gridlock in Washington, D.C., has made it easier to get some things done at the state level.

For instance, Indiana is one of many states in which homebuilders have been able to change state law in recent years to make it easier to build on environmentally-sensitive wetlands.

Of course, legislative gridlock in Washington could ease this year as Republicans assume control of the presidency and both chambers of Congress.

But the trend nationally has been ever-increasing lobbying activity at the state level.

OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that monitors political spending, found that lobbying expenditures in the 19 states it tracks has risen steadily from $1.4 billion in 2015 to $1.8 billion in 2022.

Indiana is not included in that report, but lobby spending in the state has experienced similar growth. In the last budget-writing year for the Indiana General Assembly in 2023, employer lobbyists spent $28.9 million, up from $21.8 million in 2013.

The number of individuals and groups paid to lobby at the Indiana General Assembly also has increased nearly 10% over the past decade to 833 in 2024. The final tally for 2025 won’t be known until later in the year.

Growing competition

With the growing demand for lobbying services also comes stiff competition for talented government affairs specialists and new clients.

Taft made a huge push into lobbying and public affairs in 2021 when it nabbed seven attorneys and non-lawyer professionals from Indianapolis rival Ice Miller to boost its public affairs practice at the Statehouse and in Washington.

Hammond, a former member of the Republican National Committee, was among those to make the transition, as was Lacy Johnson, who was appointed an at-large member of the Democratic National Committee in 2021.

Still, Ice Miller retains a strong lobbying presence and boasts nine registered lobbyists at the Indiana General Assembly this year.

Regardless of the firm, lawyers say it makes sense to have them involved in lobbying and government affairs.

“It’s something that I deem to be pretty important, but it has to be done in a way that upholds the public trust in the process, right?” Hammond said. “And I think law firms are uniquely suited because of their professional code of conduct and the … ethical approaches that are needed when you are interfacing with government.”

This year, Taft is registered to represent 56 clients at the Legislature, ranging from Apple Inc. to the Indianapolis Public Schools Board of Commissioners to Eli Lilly and Co.

Bose Public Affairs has more than 90 clients this year, including Amazon.com, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indianapolis Colts, the city of Indianapolis and many other cities and towns across the state.

Bose also represents Eli Lilly, showing that even amid the competition there is some collegiality among the lobbying firms.

Independents also rising

Some independent lobbying businesses not linked to law firms also have benefitted from the growing demand for government affair services.

Over the past decade, RJL Solutions has become the fastest growing lobbying presence at the Legislature, ramping up from a solo practice established by non-lawyer Rachel Leslie to a lobbying corps of seven.

“RJL Solutions was born from a simple realization: my hometown of Terre Haute lacked a strong voice at the Statehouse and in the race for competitive grants,” Leslie said in an email. “I wanted to change that.”

Leslie has built a practice that combines lobbying with strategic planning, grant writing and communications.

“This holistic approach lets us help clients plan, collaborate, and share their stories effectively while ensuring legislators have the tools they need to act,” Leslie said.

RJL already has offices in Terre Haute and Indianapolis and plans to spread its approach further by opening another outpost in Evansville next month.

Consolidation also has helped some other lobbying firms grow.

Just last week, health care-centric lobbying firm KWK Management Group announced that it has merged with the wide-ranging 1816 Public Affairs Group.

The merged firm is operating under 1816’s name and branding. With a combined nine lobbyists at the Statehouse, it now is in a three-way tie for the fifth largest lobbying corps with Ice Miller and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath.

1816’s crew includes a mixture of lawyers and non-lawyers. Among them is attorney Brian Bosma, a former speaker of the Indiana House of Representatives.

Michael O’Brien, the firm’s managing partner, said the merger “will only strengthen what we can do for our expanding roster of clients.”•

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Indianapolis Business Journal reporter Cate Charron contributed to this report.