For Immediate Release: December 14, 2023
Contact: Nancy Jackson (213) 978-1960
Entities registered to lobby City agencies reported receiving payments totaling over $19.6 million in the third quarter of 2023, according to a summary published today by the Ethics Commission. Reports filed by lobbying entities disclosed that clients paid a total of $19,697,928 to lobby the City during the third quarter, marking a 6-percent increase in payments compared to the second quarter of 2023.
Of the 2,475 clients registered for the third 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 $2,966,081 and represented 15 percent of all payments by lobbying clients for the quarter.
The ten lobbying firms receiving the most client payments in the third quarter of 2023 are listed in the Top 10 Highest Paid Lobbying Firms table below. Together, these lobbying firms received a total of $7,624,089, representing 39 percent of all client payments received in the third quarter.
Of the 874 third-quarter lobbying entities, ten also reported fundraising activity totaling $87,550 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 Q3 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Englander Knabe & Allen* | $431,426 |
| 2 | Chick-Fil-A | $415,070 |
| 3 | Douglas Emmett | $361,330 |
| 4 | BARDAS Investment Group | $294,931 |
| 5 | Vera Campbell | $294,904 |
| 6 | Fox Corporation / Fox Studio Lot LLC / Foxcorp Holdings LLC** | $287,788 |
| 7 | Champion Real Estate Company | $267,115 |
| 8 | Los Angeles Police Protective League | $222,008 |
| 9 | 9712 Oak Pass Road / 9712 Oak Pass Road LLC c/o Gary Safady / Oak Pass Road | $206,500 |
| 10 | S&R Partners / San Antonio Winery dba Riboli Family Wine Estates and its affiliate S&R Partners | $185,009 |
*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 Q3 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | DLA Piper LLP (US) | $1,443,761 |
| 2 | Englander Knabe and Allen | $1,223,716 |
| 3 | TChoi and Associates | $737,325 |
| 4 | Armbruster Goldsmith & Delvac LLP | $709,623 |
| 5 | M Strategic Communications | $664,000 |
| 6 | MAX DEVELOPMENT LLC dba three6ixty | $632,880 |
| 7 | Craig Lawson & Co., LLC | $590,288 |
| 8 | Rand Paster & Nelson, LLP | $576,202 |
| 9 | Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP | $556,249 |
| 10 | Somos Law Group LLP | $490,045 |
In addition to the lobbying entities, four major filers reported activity totaling $439,074 in the third quarter of 2023. The second graph below tracks major filer activity reported over the past year.
The full summary of third-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.