Is it possible that the election of the first Republican senator from Massachusetts in more than a generation will boost revenues of select Philadelphia law firms?
Scott Brown's upset win changed the dynamics of the health-care debate overnight. Depending on your point of view, the possible collapse of Obamacare may or may not have ill portents for the nation's health-care system.
But there's one group that almost surely will benefit. The thousands of lobbyists on and off Capitol Hill who labor on behalf of health-industry clients can now count on at least a few more monthly retainers.
Nothing stimulates the flow of lobbying dollars like uncertainty on Capitol Hill.
One little-known fact about Washington lobbying is that a goodly number of lobbyists are employees of law-firm subsidiaries. The biggest firms in Philadelphia have Washington offices, and most have lobbying contingents there and in the region's state capitals.
For these firms, lobbying doesn't generate anywhere near as much revenue as high-end legal work. But it is a steady source of income that's all the more important now that legal revenue for many firms is flat or down and the gains from cost-cutting have been captured.
You can, after all, lay off only so many first-year associates before there are no more first-years left.
