Firms usually love it when their lawyers and lobbyists are in the spotlight.
Trent Lott, former senator and now senior counsel at Patton Boggs, often appears on Fox News. McDermott Will & Emery white-collar defender Abbe Lowell recently did a segment on The Colbert Report.
But when the clients get upset, the fun ends.
In 2009, former House Republican leader Dick Armey, then a lobbyist at DLA Piper, learned that lesson when the firm’s drug-company clients complained about his efforts as head of the group FreedomWorks to kill health-care reform, which they supported. Armey left the firm.
Though he still has his job, Akin Gump partner Paul Mirengoff has figured out the hard way that espousing personal views at the possible expense of client relationships is a giant no-no.
Since 2002, Mirengoff has blogged for the conservative Web site Power Line. Akin Gump didn’t have a problem until recently, when Mirengoff criticized the Native American prayer delivered as the invocation at the memorial service honoring those killed and injured in Tucson. In a Power Line post, Mirengoff called the prayer “ugly” and described it as “some sort of Yaqui Indian tribal thing, with lots of references to ‘the creator’ but no mention of God.”
Akin Gump has an American Indian Law and Policy practice. The result was a public thrashing of Mirengoff on Akin Gump’s Web site. Partner James Meggesto, who represents Indian tribes and is himself a member of the Onondaga Nation, wrote that he was “shocked, appalled and embarrassed” by the blog post, calling it “insensitive and wholly inappropriate.”
Akin Gump chairman Bruce McLean issued his own statement condemning Mirengoff’s “poor choice of words.”
Mirengoff apologized and removed the post from Power Line.
Akin Gump now is reviewing its social-media-related policies. And Mirengoff, who has since quit Power Line, will have to find a new hobby.
This article first appeared in the March 2011 issue of The Washingtonian.
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 as a staff writer, and became a senior editor in 2014. She was previously a reporter for Legal Times and the National Law Journal. She lives in Northeast DC with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.
Lawyers Who Could Use Muzzles
Firms usually love it when their lawyers and lobbyists are in the spotlight.
Trent Lott, former senator and now senior counsel at Patton Boggs, often appears on Fox News. McDermott Will & Emery white-collar defender Abbe Lowell recently did a segment on The Colbert Report.
But when the clients get upset, the fun ends.
In 2009, former House Republican leader Dick Armey, then a lobbyist at DLA Piper, learned that lesson when the firm’s drug-company clients complained about his efforts as head of the group FreedomWorks to kill health-care reform, which they supported. Armey left the firm.
Though he still has his job, Akin Gump partner Paul Mirengoff has figured out the hard way that espousing personal views at the possible expense of client relationships is a giant no-no.
Since 2002, Mirengoff has blogged for the conservative Web site Power Line. Akin Gump didn’t have a problem until recently, when Mirengoff criticized the Native American prayer delivered as the invocation at the memorial service honoring those killed and injured in Tucson. In a Power Line post, Mirengoff called the prayer “ugly” and described it as “some sort of Yaqui Indian tribal thing, with lots of references to ‘the creator’ but no mention of God.”
Akin Gump has an American Indian Law and Policy practice. The result was a public thrashing of Mirengoff on Akin Gump’s Web site. Partner James Meggesto, who represents Indian tribes and is himself a member of the Onondaga Nation, wrote that he was “shocked, appalled and embarrassed” by the blog post, calling it “insensitive and wholly inappropriate.”
Akin Gump chairman Bruce McLean issued his own statement condemning Mirengoff’s “poor choice of words.”
Mirengoff apologized and removed the post from Power Line.
Akin Gump now is reviewing its social-media-related policies. And Mirengoff, who has since quit Power Line, will have to find a new hobby.
This article first appeared in the March 2011 issue of The Washingtonian.
Subscribe to Washingtonian
Follow Washingtonian on Twitter
More>> Capital Comment Blog | News & Politics | Party Photos
Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 as a staff writer, and became a senior editor in 2014. She was previously a reporter for Legal Times and the National Law Journal. She lives in Northeast DC with her husband, two dogs, and two cats.
Editors' Picks
Check Out the Inspiring Personal Style (And Killer Outfits) of Nine of the Most Fashionable People in DC Right Now
Would Amazon’s HQ2 Really Be Good for Washington?
8 Day Trips to Do Every Weekend This Fall
The Man Who Sued His Trolls
Most Popular
Hoagie Chain Taylor Gourmet Will Close All of Its Stores
Tech Titans 2018: Washington’s Top Tech Leaders
Things to Do in DC This Weekend (September 20-23): Free Museum Day, DC Fashion Week, and SO MANY Outdoor Festivals
Kavanaugh’s Character Witness Once Wrote About His Family for Washingtonian. Check Out What His Brother Wrote in to Rebut Him.
The 100 Very Best Restaurants in Washington
September 2018: Style Setters
Related
There Are Still Six Confederate Memorials Around DC. How’s That Possible?
“Investment Layoff” Is a Masterpiece of Corporate Euphemism
Secret Service: Man Claimed to Be Jesus and Plotted to Kidnap One of the Obamas’ Dogs
The New York Times Thinks Its Readers Should Visit CityCenterDC. We Agree!
More from News
Who Even Is Edward Whelan, the Author of That Ridiculous Conspiracy Theory?
Here’s What Would’ve Happened if Christine Blasey Ford Accused Brett Kavanaugh of Attempted Rape in 1982
Washington’s Elites Have Some Opinions on Whether to Believe Brett Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford
Washingtonian Today: Rarely Have We Needed a Friday This Much