McDermott Will & Emery Adds Team of Four Top Lobbyist Advisors to Government Strategies Practice

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In recent days, international law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP announced that four top lobbyist advisors joined its growing Washington-based Government Strategies practice group.

Edward (Teddy) Eynon and Peggy Binzer join as partners; Mark Harkins, and Erica Stocker join as professional advisors. All join from another AmLaw 100 firm.

  

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Steve Ryan, partner and head of McDermott’s Government Strategies Practice Group, and a former General Counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “We are extremely pleased to be adding such an experienced and recognized group of top lobbyists to our practice group. With their knowledge and insight, McDermott will continue to build and deploy a unique combination of legal, crisis management and lobbying capabilities.”

Eynon is a top lobbyist with a strong Republican ties. He represents a broad range of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies. He has served as Deputy Chief of Staff to then-Arizona Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ) as well as Investigative Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Government Reform Committee, and Representative Elton Gallegly (R-CA). He has significant experience in the private sector also, having advised clients on critical public policy matters related to appropriations, health care, energy and defense issues at the state and federal level.

Binzer is an experienced legislative strategist who formerly served as Senior FDA Health Counsel to the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Health, Labor and Pensions, for former chairman, Judd Gregg (R-NH). Binzer also held several leadership roles at the FDA and is a recognized authority in liability protection. She played a key role in helping to shape the liability protections for biomedical countermeasures in the Pandemic Readiness and Pandemic Preparedness Act. She also spearheaded the passage of the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 and has advised multiple Hospital Systems, Physician Groups and Associations on maximizing the value of that law. Currently, she serves as the executive director of the Alliance for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety.

Mark B. Harkins and Erica D. Stocker will serve as professional advisors based in Washington. Harkins, a lobbyist with strong Democratic U.S. House of Representatives experience in financial, tax and health policy, has spent almost twenty years on Capitol Hill in various positions, including as Chief of Staff to Representative Brad Miller (D-NC) and Senior Policy Advisor to Representative David Price (D-NC). He also served as Legislative Director for the Democrats on the House Science Committee.

Stocker also brings significant legislative experience in key policy areas including health care, education and appropriations, as she served as a Legislative Assistant and Deputy Chief of Staff to then-Representative Jim Saxton (R-NJ).

With the addition of this team, McDermott expands and solidifies its legal and lobbying capabilities on Capitol Hill, and with the U.S. Department of Justice, especially with regard to current health care and appropriations policy issues. The team complements McDermott’s approach to lobbying, which combines practicing lawyers as well as non-lawyer lobbyist professionals to provide clients with more holistic advice. In July 2011, the firm also welcomed former White House Correspondent John Decker as a senior professional advisor based in Washington to provide clients with strategic advice related to firm matters.

Bill Weld, former Massachusetts governor, and partner in McDermott’s Washington, D.C. office was quoted as saying: “We’re delighted to welcome Teddy, Peggy, Mark and Erica to the Firm. In this environment, we believe it is more important than ever for major law firms like McDermott to have a strong Washington presence, and be able to provide clients experienced counsel across all disciplines.”

International law firm McDermott Will & has over 1,000 lawyers with offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C., as well as a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices  in Shanghai.