Turner, who will be counsel at Venable, follows former Democratic U.S. Senator and Arkansas attorney general Mark Pryor to the firm. Pryor (left) joined as a partner in February, two months after he left the Senate.
“Having a former attorney general as well-regarded as Mark Pryor was a key decision point for me,” Turner said, according to a statement from Venable. “I look forward to helping make Venable a go-to adviser for matters involving state oversight.” Earlier in his career, Turner had been an associate at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.
Several firms this year have expanded lobbying and litigation departments with attorneys who specialize in negotiating with attorneys general offices. Cozen O’Connor last week announced the firm had hired eight lawyers and two advisers from Dickstein Shapiro, home to one of the oldest and most well-known state AGs practices. The New York Times spotlighted the Dickstein group in a Pulitzer Prize-winning expose into lobbying ethics.
Private practice lawyers in the state AG field often fight investigations and enforcement actions state attorneys general might bring against their clients, but they also maintain close relationships with the state employees and officials in those offices.
State attorneys general “are more nimble than the federal government and able to move faster to effect change,” Pryor said in the statement. “The group we’ve put together for our AG practice has exceptional experience shepherding clients through the gauntlet of a state-directed enforcement proceeding with many moving parts.”
At the same time the firms are growing the practice, more lobbying money is being spent in states, especially compared to changes in the amount of lobbying spending on federal issues, according to a Washington Post report this week.
Even Alabama attorney general Luther Strange, Turner’s former boss, highlighted the growing ties between states and the private legal and lobbying industries. Venable included this comment from Strange in the firm’s announcement Tuesday:
“I have known of the Venable firm for many years, and I have first-hand experience with the high quality legal services its attorneys provide. While I am disappointed that Kevin is leaving Alabama, I am excited that he has this great opportunity to work with former Arkansas Attorney General and U.S. Senator Mark Pryor in building a state AG practice at Venable. I wish him great success.”
Turner, most recently chief deputy attorney general in Alabama, had worked with Strange since he took office in 2011.
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