Ted Olson. Photo Credit: Diego Radzinschi/ALM

 

Editor's Note: After this column was published Thursday evening, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said it had ended its contract to lobby on behalf of Saudi Arabia. 

 

Talk about awkward timing.

Just a month or two ago, Ted Olson was probably giddy that he landed Saudi Arabia as a lobbying client. And his firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher was probably pleased as punch that it bagged one of the richest—if not the richest—client in the world. Though the fees under the agreement weren't obscene (Saudi Arabia agreed to pay Gibson Dunn a flat fee of $250,000 to prepare a white paper opposing legislation that exposed OPEC to U.S. prosecution for antitrust violations, plus an additional $100,000 per month for related work), the upside for other lucrative work must have made the partners swoon.

But, oh, what a long time ago that was!