New York Times
April 18, 2006
New Lobbying Firm Wins Big-Name Wall Street Clients

It is just a few months old, but lobbying firm Porterfield & Lowenthal is already shaping up as the political power broker for some major Wall Street clients.

Documents recently released by the United States Senate’s office of public records indicate that the firm, launched earlier this year by two former lobbiysts from Van Scoyoc Associates, has been retained by the Nasdaq Stock Market and the American Bankers Association — two organizations that had previously been clients of Van Scoyoc.

Porterfield & Lowenthal was also hired by Kynikos Associates, the giant short-selling hedge fund run by James Chanos, and Relational Investors, the hedge fund that recently settled a high-profile standoff with Sovereign Bancorp, documents show.

Mr. Chanos announced last month that his firm would lead the Coalition of Private Investment Companies, a newly formed lobbying group for hedge funds. The names of the coalition’s other members were not disclosed.

Copyright © 2006 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted with permission.