GARDERE’S LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS GROUP TOPS AMONG TEXAS LAW FIRMS

May 22, 2006 (PRLEAP.COM) Business News
AUSTIN – The Legislative and Regulatory Affairs practice group in the Austin office of Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP has been recognized by the San Antonio Express-News as having the highest grossing law firm lobby group in Texas.

As part of a special report, the newspaper compiled a ranking of the top lobbying firms in the state based on compensation amounts reported to the Texas Ethics Commission. Gardere earned the top honor for a law firm, ranking fourth statewide.

“Gardere continues to be proud of the contributions of our Legislative and Regulatory Affairs practice. They are a dynamic group and their collective achievements for clients and success as a group is very impressive, even more so because the group is just now celebrating their fourth anniversary at the Firm,” says Gardere Managing Partner Steve Good.

The Legislative and Regulatory Affairs group was founded in April 2002, and previously has been recognized among Texas’ top lobbying/regulatory firms by Texas Lawyer newspaper.

Adds Kim Yelkin, partner in the Austin office, “This ranking is a tangible means to see what has been built in just four years. Our group is certainly among the best in Texas and on par with the top lobbying and regulatory attorneys and consultants in the country.”

The members of the LRA Group include accomplished attorneys and consultants who have served as in-house counsel, elected officials, gubernatorial appointees, legislative staff and trial counsel.

Several individual Gardere attorneys and consultants also earned recognition in a secondary listing of the state’s top lobbyists that appeared in the San Antonio Express-News. Nine of the firm’s attorneys and consultants reported gross compensation ranking each among the top 250 lobbyists in the state.

Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP, an AmLaw 200 firm, was founded in 1909 and is one of the Southwest’s largest full-service law firms. With offices in Dallas, Austin, Houston and Mexico City, Gardere provides legal services to private and public companies and individuals in areas of litigation, corporate, tax, environmental, labor and employment, intellectual property, and financial services.