Greenberg Traurig

Greenberg Traurig, LLP is a Miami-based 1,350-lawyer full-service international law firm "with the fourth-largest number of lawyers in the United States and eighth-largest worldwide." The firm was founded in 1967 by Miami lawyer Mel Greenberg. "Much of Greenberg Traurig's growth has been achieved through several mergers, including its 1998 pairing with Atlanta entertainment practice Katz, Smith & Cohen, and its 1999 acquisition of Minkin & Snyder." [1][2][3][4]

• Cesar L. Alvarez - President and CEO

Lobbying

"In 1998, Greenberg Traurig was named one of the top lobbying firms in the nation by Fortune magazine. The Firm was ranked No. 40 among the nation's top lobbying firms having 'the most power and access in the business.'" [5]

Bush-Greenberg Traurig Connections

The following enumerations were published in September 2004 by, among others, the Portland Indymedia. Some sources have been provided in support.

1. "Represented President George W. Bush in the Bush-Gore 2000 Florida election vote recount."

• "Court's reputation being tested," Associated Press (cjonline.com), December 11, 2000: "Barry Richard, a partner in the firm, is the lead Bush attorney in Florida. Richard, who is a Democrat, said he was called Nov. 8 about representing Bush." re Barry S. Richard
• "Ethics experts say Scalia, Thomas connections not conflicts of interest," CNN, December 12, 2000: See "Justice Scalia's sons": "Another Bush lawyer, Barry S. Richard, is a partner in that firm's Tallahassee office."
• "Florida Attorneys for Bush and Gore to Debate 2000 Presidential Election Recount," University of Florida, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, March 25, 2003: "Barry Richard, chief Florida attorney for Bush ... an attorney of Greenberg Traurig law firm in Tallahassee,..."
• "Greenberg Traurig Instrumental in Florida Vote Recount Victory," GTLaw.com, January 13, 2004.

2. "Personally represents Florida Governor Jeb Bush."

• "Governor Bush Appoints Raquel A. Rodriguez to Serve As General Counsel," My Florida, November 25, 2002. re Raquel A. Rodriguez
• "Gov. Bush names Greenberg Traurig lawyer general counsel," South Florida BizJournal, November 25, 2002.
• "Hayden Dempsey Joins Greenberg Traurig LLP," GTlaw.com, December 23, 2003. re Hayden R. Dempsey
• Profile: Hayden R. Dempsey, Republican National Lawyers Association.
• Profile: Justin Sayfie, Poole McKinley & Blosser website. re Justin J. Sayfie.
• Bush Donor Profile: Justin J. Sayfie: here and here, Texans for Public Justice.

3. "Hired son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on election day 2000--after which Justice Scalia cast one of the 5 to 4 deciding votes which placed Bush in presidency." re John F. Scalia

• "Court's reputation being tested," Associated Press (cjonline.com), December 11, 2000: "John Scalia accepted a position with the Miami-based firm Greenberg Traurig on Nov. 7, election day."
• "Ethics experts say Scalia, Thomas connections not conflicts of interest," CNN, December 12, 2000. See "Justice Scalia's sons": "John Scalia, 35, has accepted a job offer with the Washington office of Greenberg Traurig. Another Bush lawyer, Barry S. Richard, is a partner in that firm's Tallahassee office. ... John Scalia won't actually join the Greenberg, Traurig firm until sometime next year, according to partner Joe Reeder, who said the job was offered weeks before the election and has no connection to the Florida case."
• "Attorney John Scalia Joins Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Tysons Corner Office," GTLaw.com, January 10, 2001; Scalia's GTLaw profile.

4. "Miami-headquartered firm partially funded/sponsored delegation to Israel by House-Senate Armed Services Committee members and government contractors to witnes and be briefed on interrogation resistance procedures and torture techniques ... One of lobbyists joining them to Israel included Jack London, CEO, CACI International, the American defense contractor implicated by Major General Antonio M. Taguba in outsourced Iraqi torture at Abu Ghraib prison." See Taguba Report.

• Ali Abunimah, "Israeli link possible in US torture techniques. In exchange for interrogation training, did Washington award security contracts?" The Daily Star (Lebanon), May 11, 2004. Also posted May 18, 2004 by San Francisco Indymedia.
• Tom Flocco, "Gonzalez confirmation hearing ignored US / Jordan torture links and legislative junket to Israel to witness 'anti-terror' exercises," 911citizenswatch.org, January 7, 2005.

5. "Firm has prominent administrative positions in Massachusetts 9/11 Fund which also involves Bush family banking house Brown Brothers Harriman."

• "$500,000 DONATION LAUNCHES MASSACHUSETTS 9/11 FUND. Stop & Shop and Greenberg Traurig LLP Launch Fund Supported by Victims’ Families," GTLaw.org, January 2002.
• Yahoo! Search results, December 20, 2005.

6. "One appointed as General Counsel of the Department of the Navy and its Office of Naval Intelligence just 90 days before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon."

• "Alberto J. Mora, General Counsel of the Department of the Navy, "the 20th General Counsel of the Department of the Navy, was sworn into office on July 25, 2001."

7. "Firm works with 9-11 victims on planning out their U.S. gov't hushmail/bribery estates."

• "As The Revolving Door Turns. How does Washington work these days? A telling tale of two Capitol Hill staffers," Business Week, July 11, 2005: "On the Hill, both [Tony C.] Rudy and [Gary M.] Shiffman were involved in issues that were creating a new and lucrative lobbying niche for Greenberg Traurig and others: claims brought by victims of war, terror, and torture against foreign governments and companies. In these cases, U.S. cooperation was key, either in pressing the POWs' case against Japanese companies or in unblocking foreign assets frozen by the U.S. Treasury."

8. "Firm partner is Marvin S. Rosen, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Finance Chairman who supervised activities of convicted fund-raiser and DNC vice-chairman of finance John Huang who had to return half of $3 million+ raised by him because of contributions from illegal foreign sources.

• Profile: Marvin S. Rosen, GTLaw.com website.

9. Bush still owes Greenberg firm nearly one million dollars for work done by dozens of lawyers and paralegals--leaving some to question why a Republican candidate would hire a Democratic lawyer from a Democratic firm ...

• "Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k. White House directs queries to RNC," The Raw Story, May 5, 2005:

"Greenberg Traurig has yet to receive more than $314,000 in legal fees charged to a Bush committee during the 2000 Florida recount ... As a corporation, Greenberg’s unpaid tab represents a massive in-kind campaign contribution, far larger than anything that went unreported by DeLay. But it appears to be legal: corporations are allowed to donate any amount to the nebulous type of committee employed during the recount. It would, however, violate the committee's self-imposed $5,000 contribution limit from individual donors. ... Greenberg’s leadership has apparently declined to press the issue. Jill Perry, Greenberg’s director of marketing and public affairs, declined to comment," according to The Raw Story's John Byrne, May 5, 2005.

To this list can be added:
10. U.S. presidential election, 2004:

• "Dubya's Mouthpieces," FlaPolitics Blogspot, August 10, 2004: "With the Democrats threatening to file lawsuits in anticipation of post-presidential election fallout, Republicans are amassing their own team of legal eagles, headed in Florida by Gov. Jeb Bush's former deputy general counsel. ... Hayden Dempsey, who left Bush's office to join the prominent Greenberg Traurig firm last year, confirmed Monday he has been tapped as the statewide chairman of the Bush-Cheney campaign's legal defense team," Lawyers for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. See Lawyers for Bush-Cheney.
• "Here We Go Again. Bush and Kerry presidential campaigns assemble armies of lawyers in Florida, expecting Election Day voting problems and ..." Conrad & Scherer, August 16, 2004.
• "OF COUNSEL: POLITICS: READY, AIM...HIRE -- Florida Trend column by Pat Dunnigan (http://www.fltrend.com), October 2004: Barry Richard "has agreed to represent the Bush-Cheney ticket again should litigation arise."

11. Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc.:

• According to Common Cause, Greenberg Traurig earned $275,000, from 2002-to-date:

• "Diebold Election Systems, owned by Diebold Incorporated, is one of the leading voting machine vendors across the country. The company has been the focus of a national debate about the role partisan politics should play in the voting machine selection process. Walden O'Dell, Chairman, President and CEO of Diebold Inc., is a Pioneer for President Bush’s reelection campaign, and has hosted a fundraiser with Vice President Cheney that netted $500,000. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 12/6/03) Diebold Inc. and Mr. O’Dell gave $100,965 in soft money to the Republican Party during the 2002 election cycle on the national level. Diebold Inc.’s executives and employees have given $63,290 in campaign contributions at the federal level since 1999, all but $4,775 was donated to Republican candidates and committees. (Center for Responsive Politics) Chairman and CEO of Diebold Inc., Walden O’Dell, rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on August 27, 2003. O’Dell also stated he is committed to 'helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year.' (N.Y. Times 12/2/03)."
• On behalf of Diebold, in 2004 alone, Greenberg Traurig lobbied: "A8833B, S6207, A9731, Budget Issues, Voting/Ballot Regulations, A9725, A9433 Electronic Voting Machines, Voting Regulations, HAVA Funding, Full Face Ballot."

• According to NYC Lobbyist Client Search records, Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc. from January 1, 2003, through December 31, 2004.

12. The same Greenberg Traurig lawyer who represented Elian Gonzalez ([Barbara Lagoa http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Judges/31-Lagoa.shtml]) just prior to the 2000 election also represented George W Bush in the 2000 recount. http://www.aclufl.org/legislature_courts/legal_department/briefs_complaints/elianamicus.cfm

Jack Abramoff and the Indian Casinos

• In March 2004, Jack Abramoff, "one of K Street’s top Republican rainmakers, ... stepped down from lobbying shop Greenberg Traurig amidst a Senate investigation into the multi-million dollar fees that he charged several American Indian tribes since 2001," Roll Call reported. [6]

• According to the Washington Post, February 12, 2005, "Greenberg Traurig pressured Abramoff to resign from the firm last year when his fees and financial arrangements were disclosed in a Washington Post report. The firm said at the time it was unaware of certain personal financial transactions by Abramoff, but it has declined to provide details of what Abramoff told his partners about his dealings with Scanlon and the tribes." [7]

• Legal Times reported October 4, 2004, that at the September 29, 2004, Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing, "Greenberg Traurig, escaped without a scratch. In fact, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., went out of his way to praise the firm for cooperating fully with the committee's investigation into Abramoff and Scanlon. And Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., portrayed the firm as a victim ... But questions remain: How was a firm stacked with hundreds of legal and lobbying professionals unable to see what was going on with their flamboyant and controversial partner? And will Greenberg be able to use ignorance of Abramoff's activities as a defense against investigations and possible litigation?"

"Privately, current and former Greenberg lobbyists and lawyers, as well as those who have had close working relationships with the firm, describe a firm culture where few direct questions were asked of Abramoff because of his rainmaking abilities. Abramoff's practice brought in about $10 million a year, and without him, Greenberg's D.C. lobbying revenues have tanked -- dropping more than 90 percent in the first half of 2004, according to lobbying disclosure records.

"E-mails, checks and other documents released by the committee -- many of them subpoenaed from Greenberg -- show Abramoff and Scanlon collecting tens of millions of dollars and shuffling the money through a network of foundations and side businesses. The transactions, Senate investigators contend, were designed to blur just how much cash was being collected and where it was coming from.

"Greenberg insiders assert they had no idea about Abramoff's potentially illegal activities. 'He flat out lied to us,' says one former colleague of Abramoff. ... But Greenberg may not have an easy time distancing itself from the scandal and avoiding possible liability by painting itself as an unwitting victim of an errant employee." [8]

Key People

• Larry J. Hoffman, Chairman of the Board, Chairman of the Exec. Committee [9]
• Cesar L. Alvarez, President and CEO [10]
• Frances M. Wylde, Director, Accounting

Shareholders, Of Counsel, Associates

• Miami, Florida, Lawyers.com.
• McLean, Virginia, Lawyers.com.

Contact details

1221 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
Telephone (305) 579-0500
URL http://www.gtlaw.com

SourceWatch Resources

• Bethany Noble
• FARA late 2002 registrants
• lobbying firms
• Seth Cropsey
• "Team DeLay"

SourceWatch Resources re Jack Abramoff

• Michael Scanlon
• Ralph Reed
• "Team Abramoff"

External links

Corporate Profiles

• "Greenberg Traurig, LLP," Hoovers.com, accessed May 6, 2005.
• "Greenberg Traurig, LLP," Vault.com, accessed May 6, 2005.
• "Traurig Greenberg" Firm Profile, Business Counsel, Inc., accessed May 6, 2005.
• Lobbying Firm: Greenberg, Traurig, Hoffman, Lipoff, Rosen & Quentel: "Companies and organizations that have hired this firm ranked by amount spent (1998-2004)", Center for Public Integrity; accessed November 29, 2005.

Articles & Commentary

• Kevin Cullen, Abuse in the Catholic Church: "Plaintiffs' meeting with O'Malley delayed," Boston Globe, September 6, 2003: Greenberg Traurig represented "260 of the 550 alleged victims with outstanding claims against the archdiocese."
• "Greenberg Traurig Recruits GOP Veteran Sam Skinner," Roll Call, May 17, 2004: "Less than three months after ousting superlobbyist Jack Abramoff, the law firm Greenberg Traurig is taking its first steps to rebuild its Washington office and continue its meteoric rise up the list of top lobbying firms in Washington."
• Michael Hardy, "Law firm hires Reichelt," fcw.com, January 6, 2005: "Karl Reichelt, who left his position as chief of staff at the General Services Administration late last year, has joined the law firm of Greenberg Traurig as director of federal marketing in the Governmental Affairs practice. Reichelt will share leadership of the federal marketing team with fellow director Bethany Noble."
• "Japanese Law Changes: Greenberg Traurig Moves Quickly," PR Newswire, April 1, 2005: "In addition to Greenberg Traurig opening its own office in Tokyo, the firm and established Japanese law firm Hayabusa Kokusai Law Offices have announced their entry into a strategic alliance."
• Lou Dubose, "The Pimping of the Presidency. Jack Abramoff and Grover Norquist Billing Clients for Face Time with G.W. Bush," Texans for Public Justice (mollyivins.com), June 10, 2005.

Thomas Kramer

• Interim Report: Chapter V: The Failure of Government Agencies to Vigorously Pursue Campaign Violations. Part B: FEC Enforcement Practices and the Case Against Foreign National Thomas Kramer: Did Prominent DNC Fundraisers Receive Special Treatment?": Thomas Kramer, "a German citizen with considerable real estate holdings in the South Beach area of Miami, illegally contributed over $322,600 to national, state, and local candidates of both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Tampa Tribune noted the donations and published an article in September 1994 questioning whether or not Kramer was eligible to make political contributions. The following week, Kramer 'voluntarily' disclosed his illegal activity, claiming ignorance as to the illegality of his campaign contributions. ... Upon learning that Kramer’s contributions might not be legal, almost all of the contributed money was returned to Kramer by the parties involved. The FEC ultimately fined Kramer, his secretary (Terri Bradley), the law firm of Greenberg Traurig Hoffman Lipoff Rosen & Quentel, P.A. ('Greenberg Traurig'), and the Republican Party of Florida ('RPF') for giving or receiving Kramer’s contributions."

Jack Abramoff and Indian Casinos

• Brody Mullins and John Bresnahan, "Abramoff Resigns From Greenberg Traurig Amid Senate Probe," Roll Call, March 2, 2004.
• Matthew Haggman and Dan Christensen, "Greenberg Traurig Lobbyist-Rainmaker Resigns," law.com "Daily Business Review," March 4, 2004: "The Greenberg Traurig law firm has forced out its biggest Washington rainmaker amid controversy over tens of millions of dollars in fees charged to four Indian tribes over the past several years. ... Jack Abramoff, a Republican lobbyist and fund-raiser with close ties to powerful House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, resigned on Tuesday at the request of the firm. He was the head of Greenberg's Washington lobbying office."
• Jim Snyder, "Jack Abramoff hits back at Greenberg Traurig," The Hill, March 4, 2004.
• Kate Ackley and Andy Metzger, "In Plain Sight," Legal Times, October 5, 2004.
• Susan Schmidt, "Abramoff Ex-Firm Settles With Tribe. Former Lobbyist Was Paid Millions on Both Sides of Casino Issue," Washington Post, February 12, 2005.

Bush Connections

• Tom Flocco, "NH widow fights 9-11 estate challenge linked to President Bush," tomflocco.com, September 24, 2004. See September 11, 2001, "Lawsuits": Mariani Vs Bush.
• "Bush Punishes Mariani for RICO suit: 9-11 widow fights estate challenge....linked to Bush," Portland Indymedia, September 28, 2004 (repost).
• John Byrne, "Bush Florida 2000 recount committee still owes lobbyist's former firm $314k. White House directs queries to RNC," The Raw Story, May 5, 2005.
• Barbara Lagoa [11], http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=4723, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9802EFDC163BF933A25750C0A9669C8B63&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss, http://transcripts.cnn.com/2000/US/03/09/cuba.boy.04/.
• Sue Cobb, www.law.miami.edu/pdf/spring2001.pdf, http://www.americanambassadors.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Members.view&memberid=73, http://www.campaignmoney.com/political/contributions/sue-cobb.asp?cycle=08

Leonard N. Ross and Philadelphia Mayor John Street

• "Leonard N. Ross, Former Law Partner of Philadelphia Mayor John Street, Joins Greenberg Traurig LLP," Greenberg Traurig, April 3, 2000.
• John Shiffman, "Corruption inquiry turns to ex-adviser to Street," Philadelphia Inquirer, November 13, 2005.
• John Shiffman, "Lawyer's loan gets scrutiny in probe. The former head of a Penn's Landing redevelopment committee is part of an FBI inquiry into corruption," Philadelphia Inquirer, November 25, 2005.
• John Shiffman and Marcia Gelbert, "Street fundraiser charged with corruption," Philadelphia Inquirer, December 6, 2005.
• Jeff Blumenthal, "Confidante to Phila. mayor indicted in alleged development scheme," Philadelphia Business Journal, December 6, 2005.
• "Abramoff law firm has a new scandal -- in Philly," Attytood, December 6, 2005.
• John Shiffman and Marcia Gelbert, "Friend of Street to admit guilt. The mayor's former law partner was charged with extortion," Philadelphia Inquirer, December 7, 2005.
• John Byrne, "Firm knew Abramoff was paid by ex-DeLay aide before scandal broke, associates say," The Raw Story, January 2, 2006.