While much of the nation is still grappling with financial hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, lobbyists have had a surprisingly busy year so far, as lobbying spending has crept up to levels not seen since 2010.

In this month’s cover story, reporter Patrick Smith and I worked together to dig through the data to find out 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.