Typically, election years see a slight drop in overall lobbying activity, thanks to uncertainties around policies and the officials who will be in place to implement them. As 2020 has shown time and time again, it is not a typical year.

The National Law Journal interviewed several top lobbyists and watchdog groups and took a deep dive into lobbying disclosure data to see what has been transpiring thus far in 2020: who is paying big money to influence policy, what new players are making a push for their industries or sectors, which law firms are getting the most work and how the act of lobbying has evolved over the last several years as well as during the pandemic. This is what we found.