For Immediate Release: November 9, 2023
Contact: Nancy Jackson (213) 978-1960
Entities registered to lobby City agencies reported receiving payments totaling over $18.5 million in the second quarter of 2023, according to a summary on yesterday?s Ethics Commission agenda. Reports filed by lobbying entities disclosed that clients paid a total of $18,508,903 to lobby the City during the second quarter, marking a 12-percent increase in payments compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Of the 2,202 clients registered for the second quarter, the ten who made the largest aggregated payments for lobbying services are listed in the Top 10 Highest Paying Clients table to the right. Payments from these clients totaled $2,761,750 and represented 15 percent of all payments by lobbying clients for the quarter.
The ten lobbying firms receiving the most client payments in the second quarter of 2023 are listed in the Top 10 Highest Paid Lobbying Firms table below. Together, these lobbying firms received a total of $7,275,228, representing 39 percent of all client payments received in the second quarter.
Of the 850 second-quarter lobbying entities, 21 also reported fundraising activity totaling $166,766 for City campaigns, officeholders, and committees. The first graph below shows fundraising and contribution activity reported since 2021.
| Top 10 Highest Paying Clients | Total Payments Made in Q2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chick-Fil-A | $572,707 |
| 2 | BARDAS Investment Group | $380,222 |
| 3 | Douglas Emmett | $301,643 |
| 4 | Englander Knabe & Allen* | $298,082 |
| 5 | Fox Corporation / Fox Studio Lot LLC / Foxcorp Holdings LLC | $255,072 |
| 6 | Hackman Capital / Television City Studios, LLC | $209,260 |
| 7 | 9712 Oak Pass Road/ 9712 Oak Pass Road LLC c/o Gary Safady | $193,522 |
| 8 | MR Real Estate | $186,631 |
| 9 | 11973 San Vicente | $183,770 |
| 10 | National Real Estate Development | $180,842 |
*This client made payments to lobbying firms on behalf of other clients, and those payments were aggregated to calculate the payment amounts.
| Top 10 Highest Paid Lobbying Firms | Total Payments Received in Q2 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DLA Piper LLP (US) | $1,474,642 |
| 2 | Englander Knabe and Allen | $1,018,824 |
| 3 | M Strategic Communications | $757,000 |
| 4 | TChoi and Associates | $737,561 |
| 5 | Craig Lawson & Co., LLC | $623,153 |
| 6 | Rand Paster & Nelson, LLP | $601,314 |
| 7 | Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP | $586,780 |
| 8 | MAX DEVELOPMENT LLC dba three6ixty | $583,704 |
| 9 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP | $467,102 |
| 10 | Mayer Brown LLP | $425,148 |
In addition to the lobbying entities, four major filers reported activity totaling $96,160 in the second quarter of 2023. The second graph below tracks major filer activity reported over the past year.
The full summary of second-quarter lobbying and major filer activities is available on the Ethics Commission’s website. Disclosed information about lobbying entities and their clients can be viewed and searched through the Lobbying Dashboard and the Public Data Portal on the Ethics Commission’s website.
To download PDF, click here.
The Ethics Commission was created by Los Angeles voters in 1990 to impartially administer and enforce the City’s governmental ethics, campaign financing, and lobbying laws.