Lobbying firms are professional service organizations that represent clients before federal, state, or local government bodies to influence legislation, regulation, and policy. Federal lobbying spending reached a record $5.3 billion in 2025, according to Bloomberg Government, while OpenSecrets put the total at about $5.08 billion.
Part of EPR's Public Affairs and Political Communications pillar. See also: government relations and lobbying strategy.
For a ranked table of the ten largest firms by 2025 federal lobbying revenue, see biggest lobbying firms by revenue.
Federal lobbying spending reached a record $5.3 billion in 2025, according to Bloomberg Government. The 2024 total was approximately $4.4 billion across roughly 12,000 active registrants under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
The modern lobbying firm is no longer a pure Washington relationship business. The leading firms combine registered lobbying, public affairs, coalition management, regulatory strategy, earned media, research, and AI-era visibility positioning. This is Everything-PR's directory of the firms shaping that work.
On This Page
- Leading Federal Lobbying Firms
- How Modern Lobbying Firms Operate
- AI Lobbying: The 2026 Surge
- Foreign Lobbying & FARA
- Specialist & State Lobbying
- Research & Industry Maps
- FAQ
Leading Federal Lobbying Firms
Ballard Partners led 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $88.2 million, ahead of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck at $73.9 million, according to Bloomberg Government. The first six profiles below follow that 2025 revenue order, while Squire Patton Boggs and Van Scoyoc Associates fall outside the top 10. Revenue rankings move quarter to quarter with federal disclosure filings, and the full table is in EPR's 2025 lobbying revenue ranking.
Ballard Partners
- Founded: 1998
- Headquarters: Tallahassee, FL (with Washington, D.C. office)
- Core Strengths: Federal lobbying, administration relationships, corporate, defense, healthcare, AI sector
- Why It Matters: Ranked first in 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $88.2 million, according to Bloomberg Government. Built by Brian Ballard into one of the fastest-growing Washington firms of the past decade, with aggressive corporate-client footprint expansion from 2024 to 2026. Deep current-administration relationships have driven much of the firm's recent growth. Notable engagements include AI sector work; per the AI Lobbying Industry Map 2026, Anthropic retained Ballard to pursue Pentagon AI procurement.
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
- Founded: 1968
- Headquarters: Denver, CO (with a major Washington, D.C. office)
- Core Strengths: Public policy, natural resources, real estate, gaming, financial services, corporate
- Why It Matters: Ranked second in 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $73.9 million, according to Bloomberg Government, after Ballard Partners took first place. Brownstein had been reported as the largest U.S. lobbying firm by revenue in early 2024. Operates as a national law-and-lobbying hybrid with one of the deepest senior-practitioner benches in Washington.
BGR Group
- Founded: 1991
- Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
- Core Strengths: Federal lobbying, corporate, defense, financial services, foreign government representation, government affairs
- Why It Matters: Ranked third in 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $71.2 million, listed by Bloomberg Government as BGR Government Affairs. Founded by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Ed Rogers. One of the most influential bipartisan government-relations platforms in Washington, and a recognized leader in foreign-policy and defense engagement. See EPR's full BGR Group firm profile for the firm's history, practice areas, and international footprint.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Founded: 1945 (Dallas)
- Headquarters: Washington, D.C. (largest U.S. office)
- Core Strengths: Federal lobbying, regulatory, foreign government representation, energy, financial services, tax
- Why It Matters: Ranked fourth in 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $65.4 million, according to Bloomberg Government. Roughly 900+ attorneys and advisers across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Single-tier partnership structure.
Cornerstone Government Affairs
- Founded: 2002
- Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
- Core Strengths: Federal lobbying, trade association representation, higher education, agriculture, transportation
- Why It Matters: Ranked fifth in 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $55.8 million, according to Bloomberg Government. Bipartisan boutique built around senior practitioners rather than a law-firm model. Large stable of trade association, corporate, and university clients. Recognized for relationship density across both parties.
Holland & Knight
- Founded: 1968 (merger of Knight firm and Holland firm)
- Headquarters: Tampa, FL
- Core Strengths: Public policy, litigation, real estate, government law, business law
- Why It Matters: Ranked sixth in 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $55.1 million, according to Bloomberg Government. International law firm with 1,100+ lawyers across 22+ U.S. offices plus Bogotá and Mexico City. One of the few major lobbying firms with a deep pro bono track record alongside top-tier commercial work.
Squire Patton Boggs
- Founded: 2014 (merger of Squire Sanders and Patton Boggs; predecessor firms date to the 19th and 20th centuries)
- Headquarters: Global, with 44 offices across 21 countries
- Core Strengths: Federal lobbying, international policy, financial services, energy, foreign government representation
- Why It Matters: One of the largest law firms in the world by headcount and gross revenue, yet ranked 19th on Legis1's 2025 federal lobbying revenue list at $23.5 million. The federal lobbying practice has been led by former U.S. Senators John Breaux and Trent Lott.
Van Scoyoc Associates
- Founded: 1990
- Headquarters: Washington, D.C.
- Core Strengths: Federal lobbying, corporate representation, higher education, medical centers, nonprofits, foreign governments
- Why It Matters: Founded by H. Stewart "Stu" Van Scoyoc. Represents 20 of the largest 200 U.S. corporations plus more than 50 universities and medical centers. One of the largest lobbying-pure-play firms in Washington, though not among the ten largest firms by 2025 federal lobbying revenue.
How Modern Lobbying Firms Operate
The 2008-era K Street firm could move a bill with 14 meetings and a check. The 2026 firm needs all of that, plus coalition validators, regulatory strategy, earned media, hearing preparation, parallel state pressure, and measurable AI-engine visibility on the issues their clients own. For how the market itself is structured, see K Street Power Structure: Who Holds Lobbying Revenue.
The discipline pieces:
- Grassroots vs. Grasstops vs. Astroturf covers recruiting the right validators and how the three layers differ.
- Public Affairs Campaigns That Moved Washington in 2026 shows how coalition, lobbying and earned media reinforce each other in named campaigns.
- Biggest Lobbying Groups in the US covers the trade associations and the infrastructure individual firms cannot replicate.
- Government relations as statecraft reframes the discipline.
For the full strategy framework: government relations and lobbying strategy. Organizations that want this work built for them can see 5W's public affairs and government relations practice.
AI Lobbying: The 2026 Surge
The biggest single shift inside the federal lobbying industry in 2025 and 2026 is the AI sector's escalation. Per the AI Lobbying Industry Map 2026:
- Meta led all companies in 2025 with $26.29M in federal lobbying, the most of any company in any industry.
- 3,570+ federal lobbyists worked AI issues in 2025, roughly one in four federal lobbyists.
- Anthropic outspent OpenAI on federal lobbying for the first time in Q1 2026, at $1.6M, a 333% year-over-year increase.
- Alphabet, Anthropic, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI combined hired 307 lobbyists in Q1 2026 alone, roughly one for every two members of Congress.
Firms running point on this work include Ballard Partners (Anthropic, Pentagon AI procurement), Akin Gump, BGR Group, Brownstein Hyatt, and members of the Data Center Coalition. The discipline-level read on the legislative fight: Who Is Lobbying on AI Regulation, and What They Actually Want. For the practice side, see the AI Policy Public Affairs Playbook.
Foreign Lobbying & FARA
The highest-disclosure, highest-scrutiny corner of the industry. Firms representing foreign governments, parties, and certain foreign entities must register with the Department of Justice, file disclosure reports, and label communications, as laid out in the FARA compliance and diligence framework. Enforcement risk and reputational stakes are higher than under the LDA. The full index of law, country maps and case files is the FARA guide.
Per the China Lobbying Industry Map 2026, China has paid U.S. FARA-registered firms $562.7 million from 2016 through 2025, more than any other country, according to OpenSecrets. Tencent's federal lobbying jumped from roughly $200K per quarter to $1.5M in Q3 2025. The February 2025 Bondi memo curtailing FARA enforcement has reshaped the foreign-influence landscape.
Related EPR coverage:
- Saudi Arabia Lobbying in the US: Firms, Spend and Targets
- Qatar Lobbying in the US: $250M Across 88 FARA Firms
- Japan Lobbying in the US: JETRO, Firms and 2024 Spend
- UAE Lobbying in the US: Firms, Spend and Named Lobbyists
- Tencent's Washington Buildout: Inside China's Fastest-Growing Lobbying Campaign
- FARA Case Files: Zuberi, VTB-Manatos and Libya Lobbying
- DOJ FARA Warning: What It Means for PR Firms
The country side of the FARA story. Country-by-country and firm-tier breakdown of disclosed foreign-principal spending: The Foreign Influence PR Study 2026. The 2026 inaugural edition ranks the top ten countries by OpenSecrets totals for 2016 through 2025 (China at $562.7M, Japan at $504.1M, then Liberia, Saudi Arabia and the Marshall Islands), reports Japan leading 2024 at $48.5M, and documents the firm-tier benchmarks across the roughly $5B cumulative disclosed market.
Specialist & State Lobbying
- Who Is Lobbying on AI Regulation covers the federal-vs-state rule fight, data privacy, and liability.
- Top New York Lobbying Firms covers Capalino & Company, Suri Kasirer, and the Albany operations.
- Top Brussels PR and Public Affairs Firms 2026 covers the EU lobbying market.
Research & Industry Maps
- The AI Lobbying Industry Map 2026 found 3,570+ federal lobbyists working AI issues, Meta at $26.29M, and Anthropic surpassing OpenAI.
- The China Lobbying Industry Map 2026 found $562.7M in FARA spending from 2016 through 2025, plus Tencent's Washington buildout.
- The Foreign Influence PR Study 2026 ranks countries by disclosed FARA spend, with Japan leading 2024 at $48.5M.
- Lobbying Firm Citation Share Index 2026 shows which firms AI engines name first.
- Country maps: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan and the UAE.
FAQ: Lobbying Firms
What is a lobbying firm?
A lobbying firm is a registered organization that represents clients before legislators and executive officials to influence legislation, regulation, or policy. Firms range from boutique shops with a handful of senior practitioners to global law firms with hundreds of lobbyists across multiple offices. All registered lobbying activity meeting Lobbying Disclosure Act thresholds must be publicly disclosed.
Who are the leading federal lobbying firms?
Ballard Partners led 2025 federal lobbying revenue at $88.2 million, ahead of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck at $73.9 million, according to Bloomberg Government. The profiles on this page cover those firms plus BGR, Akin Gump, Cornerstone Government Affairs, Holland & Knight, Squire Patton Boggs, and Van Scoyoc Associates. The full top 10 with revenue figures is in Biggest Lobbying Firms by Revenue 2025, and the market structure is in K Street Power Structure.
What does a lobbying firm actually do in 2026?
The 2026 lobbying firm runs an integrated stack: registered lobbying meetings, hearing preparation, witness coaching, coalition assembly, regulatory strategy, earned media coordination, grasstops validator recruitment, parallel state pressure where useful, and AI-visibility positioning on the issues their clients own.
What does a federal lobbying firm cost?
Top-tier Washington firms charge approximately $50,000 to $150,000 per month for retained federal lobbying representation, per OpenSecrets aggregations. Narrow state-level engagements can start near $10,000 per month. Major integrated federal campaigns can exceed $500,000 per month.
What is the difference between a lobbying firm and a public affairs firm?
Lobbying firms perform registered, disclosure-required direct advocacy with legislators and executive-branch officials. Public affairs firms typically deliver a broader stack of communications, coalition-building, digital strategy, and policy positioning, and may or may not include in-house registered lobbying. The two disciplines are converging. The most effective shops combine both. See Top Public Affairs and Political PR Firms in the U.S. 2026.
Which lobbying firms represent foreign governments?
Firms representing foreign governments must register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) rather than only the LDA. According to OpenSecrets, China alone has paid $562.7M to FARA-registered firms from 2016 through 2025. Active firms in foreign government work include Squire Patton Boggs, Akin Gump, BGR Group, Mercury Public Affairs, and Ballard Partners, among others. See the FARA guide for the country maps.
What is the Lobbying Disclosure Act?
The Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) requires lobbyists who meet threshold activity and compensation levels to register with the U.S. Senate and House, file quarterly reports disclosing clients, fees, and issues covered, and comply with gift and revolving-door rules. Filings are public and searchable.
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