Former Rep. Steve Israel to Advise Michael Best's Lobbying Arm
Israel, a Long Island Democrat, joins Republican Trump administration alums Reince Priebus and Stefan Passantino as the latest to align with Michael Best.
February 07, 2019 at 02:36 PM
4 minute read
Former U.S. Representative Steve Israel. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
Michael Best Strategies, the consulting and government relations business affiliated with law firm Michael Best & Friedrich, has tapped former U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, a Democrat from New York, to sit on its advisory board.
Israel is a former chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee who spent 16 years on Capitol Hill as the representative for a Long Island congressional district, before finishing out his time in government in 2017. As the latest member of Michael Best Strategies' board of advisers, he'll join chairman Reince Priebus, the former head of the Republican National Committee, who also had a stint as White House chief of staff in the early months of the Trump administration.
In the new role, Israel is expected to advise the Michael Best Strategies team while also collaborating with Michael Best, the Milwaukee-based law firm, on personnel, business development and policy issues, according to a statement issued Thursday.
“As a veteran legislator, Steve was the chief architect of numerous House campaign strategies,” Priebus said in a statement. “He has developed a vast network of local, state and federal officials throughout the nation on both sides of the aisle. He is highly respected in Washington, and he will be a considerable addition to our group of other former government and public policy professionals.”
In an interview Thursday, Israel said he was looking forward to working with Michael Best Strategies, where his role will focus on the intersection of public policy and emerging industry and technology issues. Israel won't be lobbying. Instead, he will tap into his experience in government to advise Michael Best on a strategic level, he said.
“I think politics and governing are as volatile and complex as we've ever seen,” Israel said. “My role's been defined as providing that strategic insight into the rapid changes in industries and technology as they relate to public policy.”
He continued, “One of the things we'll do is explore emerging industries and the impact of public policy on those industries, and the impact of those industries on public policy.”
Beyond the board member role at Michael Best, Israel has been using his time outside of public office to write novels—the latest, “Big Guns,” is a comedic story involving a Long Island town, Washington politics and the firearm lobby in the U.S., according to Israel's personal website. Israel has also served as a political commentator and op-ed columnist for the Washington Post, New York Times and CBS's “60 Minutes,” among other media outlets.
For Michael Best and its government relations arm, bringing Israel on board at Michael Best Strategies is the latest in a series of notable hires over the past couple years.
In January 2017, Michael Best Strategies hired lobbyists Denise Bode, a former CEO of the American Wind Energy Association and president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, as well as Thomas Schreibel, a former chief of staff to U.S. Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., R-Wisconsin.
Michael Best followed those hires with the October 2017 addition of Priebus, who had spent an earlier part of his career as a partner at the law firm before moving into national politics. Back with Michael Best, Priebus is both chairman of the advisory board for Michael Best Strategies and president and chief strategist for the law firm.
The law firm side of the business has grown recently as well. Among its recent pickups was Stefan Passantino, who overlapped with Priebus in the Trump White House and joined Michael Best in September as a partner and chair of the firm's government relations, political law and public policy practice group. A former head of Dentons' political law practice, Passantino worked in the Trump administration as a deputy to former White House Counsel Don McGahn, who left his government post in October.
Prior to that, in August, Michael Best added a seven lawyer group in Colorado through an acquisition of Modus Law, a small firm focused on representing startup companies.
Read More:
Reince Priebus Heads Home to Milwaukee's Michael Best
Ex-White House Officials Passantino, Priebus Reunite at Michael Best
Michael Best Taps Into the Rockies With 7-Lawyer Law Firm Merger
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
Trump's DOJ Delays Releasing Jan. 6 FBI Agents List Under Consent Order
3 minute read
Judge Grills DOJ on Trump’s Birthright Citizenship Executive Order
Perkins Coie Backs Challenge to Trump's Ban on Transgender Military Service
4 minute read
Selendy Gay Files Lawsuit Challenging Trump's Workforce Reclassification EO
2 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Big Law's Middle East Bet: Will It Pay Off?
- 2'Translate Across Disciplines': Paul Hastings’ New Tech Transactions Leader
- 3Milbank’s Revenue and Profits Surge Following Demand Increases Across the Board
- 4Fourth Quarter Growth in Demand and Worked Rates Coincided with Countercyclical Dip, New Report Indicates
- 5Public Notices/Calendars
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
