Akin Gump Adds Two Former Members of Congress
Former South Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has joined Akin Gump's public policy practice in Washington, D.C.
January 07, 2019 at 12:23 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Daily Business Review
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
Former Florida Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, one of many former members of Congress now moving into the private sector, has joined Texas-founded Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
Akin Gump has also hired former Texas Congressman Lamar Smith, the firm said Monday.
“As a firm that operates at the intersection of business, law and policy, we recognize the valuable skills, knowledge and perspectives that Reps. Ros-Lehtinen and Smith bring to our clients,” Akin Gump chairperson Kim Koopersmith said in a statement. “They will be great additions to our top-tier policy practice, and I am very proud to welcome two individuals with such long and distinguished careers on Capitol Hill to the firm.
Ros-Lehtinen, who doesn't hold a law degree, will work as a senior adviser in the firm's public law and policy practice based in Washington, D.C.
“As home to the largest public policy practice in Washington, Akin Gump has always been a successful advocate on behalf of its clients, both domestic and foreign, on trade matters and other critical issues,” said Ros-Lehtinen in a statement. “My move here builds so well on the work I have accomplished during my time in Congress, and I am excited to begin this next chapter in my career.”
After 36 years in public office—nearly 30 of those years in the U.S. Congress representing South Florida—Ros-Lehtinen announced her retirement last year in an op-ed in the Miami Herald.
“This is a personal decision based on personal considerations,” wrote Ros-Lehtinen. Democrat Donna Shalala eventually defeated her Republican opponent Maria Elvira Salazar last November to replace Ros-Lehtinen.
Ros-Lehtinen was the first Cuban-American elected to Congress when she won her first congressional election in 1989, and the first Hispanic woman to serve in the Florida House, Florida Senate and U.S. Congress. Among her biggest policy achievements was her role in passing Florida's prepaid college-tuition program.
Akin Gump isn't the only big law firm picking up attorneys with government experience. Holland & Knight recently announced it hired former Republican Virginia Congressman Tom Davis as partner in its public policy practice group based in D.C. and Tysons, Virginia.
Davis served in Congress for 14 years before retiring in 2008. He was previously with Deloitte, where he was director of federal government affairs.
Lawyers have long bounced between the public and private sector, a process often referred to as “the revolving door.” Notable recent examples include former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates' move to King & Spalding and, in the other direction, former U.S. Attorney General William Barr's journey from Kirkland & Ellis back to the Justice Department pending his nomination to U.S. Attorney General.
Related Stories:
Another Year, Another Spin Through the Legal Industry Revolving Door
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
BCLP Enhances Financial Disputes and Investigations Practice With Baker McKenzie Partner
2 minute read
Blank Rome Snags Two Labor and Employment Partners From Stevens & Lee
4 minute read
12-Partner Team 'Surprises' Atlanta Firm’s Leaders With Exit to Launch New Reed Smith Office
4 minute read
After Breakaway From FisherBroyles, Pierson Ferdinand Bills $75M in First Year
5 minute readTrending Stories
- 1South Florida Attorney Charged With Aggravated Battery After Incident in Prime Rib Line
- 2'A Death Sentence for TikTok'?: Litigators and Experts Weigh Impact of Potential Ban on Creators and Data Privacy
- 3Bribery Case Against Former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin Is Dropped
- 4‘Extremely Disturbing’: AI Firms Face Class Action by ‘Taskers’ Exposed to Traumatic Content
- 5State Appeals Court Revives BraunHagey Lawsuit Alleging $4.2M Unlawful Wire to China
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
