Musical Chairs: Former Florida Senator Mel Martinez to DLA Piper
Last month, DLA Piper lost a prominent former lawmaker from its ranks when Dick Armey had to step down due to controversy over his remarks about healthcare reform. This week, DLA has a new Republican to tout: former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez.
Martinez, who hails from the Sunshine State, announced last month that he was ending his senatorial term early. From the BLT:
A Florida Republican and the first Cuban-American elected to the Senate, Martinez announced in August that he would resign with more than a year remaining on his first term, saying that “it’s time I return to Florida and my family.”
The BLT says Martinez will be a partner in DLA’s offices in both Washington and Tampa, though in DLA’s press release Martinez emphasizes the time he’ll be spending in Florida: “Working in DLA Piper’s offices in Florida, I look forward to helping the firm grow its practice in Latin America and collaborating with a team of distinguished lawyers and professionals with the highest level of legislative knowledge and diplomatic skill.”
Specifically, Martinez might want to help DLA Piper grow its practice in Cuba. When Martinez resigned from Congress, he told the Washington Post:
“Even though I will no longer hold public office, my passion to work to see the day when people in Cuba will live in freedom will continue,” he said.
Over at Politico, Kenneth Vogel discusses the quick jump from the Hill to the Piper.
Politico’s Ken Vogel reports:
It used to be that lawmakers were coy about any ideas they had about heading for K Street, waiting until their terms ended before announcing they were beginning a more lucrative career.But in recent years, members of Congress planning to become lobbyists have not been able to wait. In fact, when Florida Republican Mel Martinez this week accepted a position with the mega-lobbying and law firm DLA Piper — less than two weeks after resigning from the Senate — it brought to five the number of former lawmakers since 2007 who have abandoned their constituents midterm and almost immediately resurfaced with lobbying firms, according to data provided by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.
DLA Piper partner Ignacio Sanchez stressed to BLT that no outreach was made until after Martinez had bid public service farewell.
“When he announced he was going to retire and let the governor appoint someone to finish out the term, I immediately talked to him and said, you really ought to consider looking at our firm. I think you would really do well, and we would love to have you,” Sanchez said.Sanchez said he and Martinez have known each other for more than 20 years, since both were lawyers in Florida and became involved in Cuban-American issues.
Sanchez said Martinez had a “meet and greet” with people from DLA Piper before leaving office, but “no financial terms, no offer, no details” were discussed until after he had stepped down from the Senate.
No pushed back start date for Mel Martinez. His first day at DLA Piper is October 1.
Former Sen. Martinez Joins DLA Piper [BLT: The Blog of Legal Times]
Martinez heads straight to K Street [Politico]
Sen. Martinez Takes a Bow [Washington Post]
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Comments
oh god please let me be first!
Thirdsty.
1: God here, you owe me. Meet me at the corner of Q and 18th in DC later?
This was news about two days ago. Nice.
3: THANK YOU! Whatever I can do to repay for your beneficent kindness will be my honor and pleasure.
But do you think we could pick a corner in NYC?
-1
5: God again here. (Sorry for the delay, had to deal with some crop issues in Taiwan.)
Depends if you are equipped with male or female equipment. If male, I'm afraid I will be busy solving issues related to the recent announcement of the second Iranian nuclear facility.
If you are equipped with female equipment, it would depend on the ACELA schedule. I know, you would think, as God, I could discern the equipment issues, as well as the ACELA train schedule, but I'm trying to reduce my carbon footprint so am downsizing.
Interesting. I wonder what the backstory is here. Martinez was an partner for about 5 minutes as he was running for senate at Akerman Senterfitt, a Florida firm, that is relatively well regarded in Florida. It strikes me that if he wanted to come back to Florida-- except for vacations-- he would have become presiding partner or some such exhaulted position there.
Two things might be at work here. First, maybe because he was such an undistinguished (if not embarrassing) senator who couldn't even stick out one term, he really could not come back to Florida and have a viable career.
Second, although the Akerman firm has a DC office and is trying generally unsuccessfully to gain traction in other cities, it couldn't offer him a platform to make the truly big bucks that K Street offers.
It is amazing that when people go to Washington they don't come "home". Maybe that's a good thing.
Are we really supposed to believe that Martinez and DLA didn't talk about his recruitment before he resigned? I find it unlikely that "meet and greet" was simply DLA's way of being social. Seriously, I'm a little insulted.
Are we really supposed to believe that Martinez and DLA didn't talk about his recruitment before he resigned? I find it unlikely that "meet and greet" was simply DLA's way of being social. Seriously, I'm a little insulted.
7,
I live in Central Florida and I believe Mel Martinez could still have a viable career here. I think your second reason, Akerman's lack of traction in DC, is probably more on point.
Ex-haul-ted? orly? Boy, and commenters here complain about Elie's spelling...sorry, I'm bored on a Friday p.m., hence the Spelling Police. (I personally have never made a typographical error...not just one, anyhow.)
5 - wow, really... nice try though, but not funny
DLgAy.
why is DLA Piper so successful?
Because it competes with FedEx and has reasonable overnight delivery.
I thought Mel used to be at Greenberg.
Don't be jealous 15. Not everyone gets to work at DLA. Now get back to your plaintiff's contingency work, sub-human.
Martinez is an open-border zealot. All illegal aliens need to be deported in accordance with the law.
It's interesting how peoples' ethnicity takes precedent over principles.
Good riddance.
9--Believable, since Mel evidently had no time to do financial due diligence on the Titanic he boarded.
A good post, very helpful information.
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