Obama Picks Florida Lawyer-Fundraiser as Ambassador to Portugal

David Ingram

The National Law Journal

12-02-2009

A top fundraiser for President Barack Obama who heads up a lobbying practice in Florida is Obama's pick for ambassador to Portugal.

Allan Katz, of counsel at Akerman Senterfitt in Tallahassee, Fla., is chair of the firm-wide government affairs and public policy group. He raised at least $500,000 for Obama's 2008 campaign, putting him among the top fundraisers nominated for an ambassadorship, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. He also served on the 15-member platform committee for last year's Democratic national convention, according to his firm profile.

Katz did not immediately return a call for comment. The White House announced Katz's nomination late Monday.

Katz worked on Capitol Hill in the 1970s, including as legislative director for Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., now chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. He worked in Florida's insurance department and then was a name partner in Katz, Kutter, Alderman & Bryant from 1987 to 2004, when the firm merged with Akerman. The firm was No. 83 on this year's NLJ 250, a ranking of the nation's largest law firms by head count.

Obama has nominated at least six other fundraisers from Big Law to posts overseas, following a practice common among his predecessors.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.