For Immediate Release: April 20, 2023
Contact: Chris Marder (213) 978-1960
Entities registered to lobby City agencies reported receiving payments totaling over $70 million in 2022, according to a summary released by the Ethics Commission. Reports filed by lobbying entities disclosed that clients paid a total of $70,344,742 to lobby the City in 2022, marking a four-percent decrease in payments compared to 2021.
The ten clients 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 $8,376,649, representing 12 percent of all payments by lobbying clients in 2022. The table also includes payments made by these clients in 2021.
The ten lobbying firms who received the most client payments in 2022 are listed in the Top 10 Highest Paid Lobbying Firms table below. Together, these firms received a total of $28,345,443, representing 40 percent of all client payments received in 2022. The table includes payments reported by these firms in 2021.
Lobbying entities reported fundraising $624,732 in contributions for City campaigns, officeholders, and committees over the course of the year. They also reported delivering or making $342,230 in contributions. The graph at the top of the next section below shows fundraising and contribution activity since 2013.
| Top 10 Highest Paying Clients | 2022 Total Payments | 2021 Total Payments (& Rank) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BARDAS Investment Group | $2,002,986 | $625,463 (n/a) |
| 2 | Chick-Fil-A | $1,178,455 | $919,186 (4) |
| 3 | Englander Knabe & Allen* | $1,156,604 | $1,276,993 (1) |
| 4 | 9712 Oak Pass Road | $630,000 | $775,772 (7) |
| 5 | Holland Partner Group | $628,750 | $707,458 (8) |
| 6 | Clear Channel Outdoor | $591,043 | $491,507 (n/a) |
| 7 | AEG | $577,643 | $136,253 (n/a) |
| 8 | Atlas Capital Group | $555,764 | $630,454 (9) |
| 9 | Angels Landing Partners | $533,579 | $876,841 (5) |
| 10 | Brookfield Properties Development | $521,827 | $323,844 (n/a) |
*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 | 2022 Payments Received | 2021 Payments Received (& Rank) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DLA Piper LLP (US) | $5,111,189 | $5,509,135 (1) |
| 2 | Englander Knabe and Allen | $4,130,438 | $4,035,900 (3) |
| 3 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP | $3,093,797 | $5,403,776 (2) |
| 4 | Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP | $3,061,644 | $3,422,662 (4) |
| 5 | Craig Lawson & Co., LLC | $2,540,084 | $2,822,763 (5) |
| 6 | MAX DEVELOPMENT LLC dba three6ixty | $2,387,458 | $2,443,528 (6) |
| 7 | Mayer Brown LLP | $2,341,893 | $1,613,312 (10) |
| 8 | TChoi and Associates | $2,118,103 | $2,121,003 (7) |
| 9 | M Strategic Communications | $1,867,500 | $1,932,000 (8) |
| 10 | Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP | $1,693,336 | $1,007,226 (21) |
In addition to lobbying entities, major filers reported making or incurring $877,991 in expenses to influence one or more City matters in 2022. The second graph on the next section below shows major filer activity over the last decade.
A summary of lobbying and major filer activities in the fourth quarter of 2022 and over the course of the entire year 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.
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.
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