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Martinez, his new boss aren't strangers

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By WILLIAM MARCH | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2009

TAMPA - Mel Martinez was a familiar face to the high-powered lobbyists of DLA Piper well before he resigned early from his Senate seat and then, just two weeks later, joined the firm.

During his 4 1/2 years in the Senate, the firm's members frequently represented clients on legislation before the committees the Florida senator sat on, according to government lobbying records.

Washington-based public interest activists call Martinez's move an unusually blatant example of the "revolving door" phenomenon — elected officials or government employees moving back and forth to lobbying jobs.

"It used to be considered tacky and somewhat questionable to leave office early and sign up immediately with a lobbying firm," said Meredith McGehee, policy director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center. "Now, more people are doing it because the magnitude of the money has grown.

"There's sort of a grudging acknowledgement that the money makes it hard to resist, so it's not so much of a scarlet 'L' on your chest," she said.

'A rainmaker'

There's no evidence that Martinez's unexpected early resignation, or his quick hiring by DLA Piper, was payback for any actions while in office.

But the circumstances raise questions about Martinez's comments on the situation.

Martinez had announced in December that he wouldn't run for re-election, but then vehemently and repeatedly denied rumors among political insiders that he would leave office before his term ended.

Martinez said he was quitting to spend more time with his family. But DLA Piper has no office in his hometown of Orlando. It has offices in Washington and Tampa.

DLA Piper officials, however, have been quoted as saying he will spend much of his time in Orlando, but he has been helping set up offices in Brazil.

A DLA Piper spokesman declined a request for an interview with Martinez or company officials for this story.

Under federal law, Martinez can't lobby Congress directly for two years after leaving office — Sept. 9, 2011 — but he can advise DLA Piper members of the firm's governmental affairs practice.

Former legislators "are key players on strategy, advising colleagues on who they should talk to, the tack they should take," McGehee said. "That's really their value — they know the players and what buttons to push, as well as being a rainmaker, a well-known name."

Major lobbying firm

DLA Piper is a major player in Washington lobbying, but also one of the world's largest law firms, with 3,500 lawyers and offices in 28 countries, according to its Web site.

It was created in 2005 — the same year Martinez took office — when the former Washington firm of Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP merged with a large British firm, DLA LLP, to create an international legal services group.

Its lobbying arm is known for employing former federal employees and legislators. Until recently, it had on its staff the Republican former House Majority Leader Dick Armey and former Democratic Senate leader George Mitchell.

Its Web site boasts that it includes members who were formerly a governor, vice chairmen of the House Republican conference and House Homeland Security Committee, assistant U.S. secretaries of state and defense, presidential counsel, ambassadors and others.

The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonprofit group that tracks lobbying and campaign fundraising, recently ranked DLA Piper 10th on a list of top revolving-door firms, citing 16 former and 39 current firm members who were former government officials.

In the Senate, Martinez served on committees on armed services; commerce, science and transportation; banking, housing and urban affairs; and the Select Committee on Aging.

DLA Piper lobbies heavily on taxes, trade, energy and nuclear power, and finance, said David Levinthal, spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics.

Public expectation

A check of federal lobbying records through the center's Web site, www.OpenSecrets.org, indicated the firm's clients paid to track a dozen or more bills a year that were handled by Martinez's committees.

Exact numbers can't be determined, and probably are greater, because the records don't always specify which bills were involved.

Among lobbying activity shown in those records:

Telecomm, technology and other firms including Experian, Lexis-Nexis and the Internet Commerce Coalition paid the firm for work on commerce committee bills on Internet privacy, identity theft and consumer protection.

Citizens Financial Group tracked banking committee legislation on federal deposit insurance.

General Motors and Raytheon paid the firm to monitor defense appropriations legislation in the armed services committee.

That level of activity isn't unusual for a major lobbying player such as DLA Piper, McGehee said.

"All that indicates is that DLA Piper is a well-known, active player," she said. "I'd be surprised if they didn't have many matters before (Martinez's) committees."

But it also means, she said, that "this is how they got to know him. That's why they offered him a job."

DLA Piper officials have been quoted as saying they held a "meet-and-greet" for Martinez before he left office, but didn't discuss employment terms until after he left.

Senators make $174,000 a year.

McGehee said former legislators can make $500,000 to $1 million a year at top lobbying firms, "depending on how much work and energy they want to put into it."

Since 2007, Levinthal said, four members of Congress have left their seats before their terms were up to join lobbying firms: three Republicans — Martinez, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert and former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, and one Democrat, Rep. Al Wynne of Maryland, who joined a lobbying firm early after losing a primary, McGehee said.

Levinthal said revolving-door lobbying "has become a cottage industry — there are dozens of them, turning around and making a great deal of money using their expertise to the advantage of a private entity."

It's perfectly legal, he noted, but "if you're a former [Congress] member, it's going to be easier for you to influence them on behalf of a client. That's not necessarily in the public interest."

Leaving a seat early adds another dimension, he added.

"When you elect a congressman or senator, there's a general public expectation that they will serve their elected term unless they have a pretty good reason not to," he said. "Most voters wouldn't be pleased if their senator expected to resign after a couple of years."

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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