Chart of The Week: Beacon Hill’s Top Lobbying Firms

O’Neill & Associates, headed by former Lieutenant Governor Thomas P. O’Neill III, once again claimed the top spot among Beacon Hill lobbying firms, according to data compiled from the Secretary of State’s disclosure site. But it came up shy of the $2 million billing mark, and stands vulnerable to a new partnership forged this year.

That would be Murphy Donoghue Partners, formed in September by John E. Murphy Jr., Roger Donoghue, Maureen Glynn, and Tara O’Donnell. The new combination (which replaces Murphy’s and Donoghue’s previous million-dollar firms) came close to seven figures just through the end of the year.

One thing to watch going forward: good relationships with Senate president Therese Murray, and with key members of the Deval Patrick administration, are of rapidly diminishing value; going forward, clients will be looking for an in with Stan Rosenberg and whoever they think will take over the executive branch.

Also, at some point these firms might finally say farewell to the days of big checks from casino development companies (like the $420,000 to ML Strategies you’ll see below from Wynn’s Development Associates).

In the chart below, I’ve listed the top 25 Massachusetts lobbying firms, based on client payments in 2013 as reported to the Secretary’s lobbying disclosure office. I’ve also shown the 2013 political contributions of the firms’ registered state lobbyists (which does not include contributions from other employees of the firms, or relatives), which total close to a half-million dollars. Plus, I’ve shown each firms’ top-paying client (or clients) for the year, and the amount. (All this data is subject to change as some reports may be late or under review.)

I’ll have a more complete roster of top-spending clients, and groups that do their own lobbying, in a later Chart of the Week. Stay tuned!