FORMER STATE SENATOR STEVEN BADDOUR, his colleague Daniel Connelly, and their Massachusetts lobbying clients are leaving McDermott, Will & Emery to join ML Strategies, the lobbying arm of Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo.
Baddour, in a telephone interview, said he and Connelly will be joining ML Strategies on September 1. He said he was attracted by the opportunity to work with the much larger team at ML Strategies, which has 10 people serving clients in Massachusetts, according to state records.
“At ML, it’s a much bigger platform,” Baddour said. “I like the team approach that ML has. They’re unique in that sense.”
Baddour’s existing roster of lobbying clients includes AT&T, State Street Bank and Trust, Steward Health Care, Beacon Health Strategies, John Deere, and WinnDevelopment. Baddour and Connelly reported more than $257,000 in lobbying payments during the first six months of this year. He said any clients that currently retain McDermott Will & Emery for their legal work will continue that arrangement.
ML Strategies is active in development, energy, health care, and a host of other sectors in Massachusetts and Washington. Its Massachusetts clients include the Massachusetts Hospital Association, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston University, and Las Vegas casino developer Wynn Resorts. Lobbying fees during the first six months of this year totaled nearly $1.2 million.
At ML Strategies, Baddour will rejoin former governor William Weld, who recruited Baddour to work at McDermott Will & Emery in 2012. Weld subsequently left McDermott Will & Emery to join ML Strategies, where he serves as a principal and also works as a partner at Mintz Levin. William “Mo” Cowan, the chief of staff to former governor Deval Patrick, is now the chief operating officer of ML Strategies.
