In the 2011 legislative marathon in Austin that ended after a 30-day special session on June 29, Texas lawyers who lobby and their clients had to settle for what they could get. That’s because state funding deficit woes and redistricting made getting attention for clients’ wish lists a difficult proposition.
“You have to judge our results by where we found ourselves starting,” says John “Jack” Erskine, administrative partner in the Austin office of K&L Gates, when evaluating how his firm’s team of lobbyists fared for their clients during the session. “We had a very good year, but you have to look at it in the situational context,” says Erskine, who lobbied for The Boeing Co., Department of Public Safety Officers Association, and Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers among other clients.
