Lobbyists constantly called the office of former Speaker Salvatore DiMasi to arrange meetings between their clients and the speaker, DiMasi’s former administrative assistant testified Monday in federal court.

Katie Quinn, the former DiMasi aide, said during questioning from Thomas Drechsler, a lawyer for lobbyist Richard McDonough, that lobbyists frequently sought meetings with the speaker and that when they did, she would denote it in spiral notebooks.

“Mr. McDonough along with numerous other lobbyists called the speaker all the time to set up appointments with clients,” Drechsler said and Quinn confirmed.

Drechsler’s questions came after prosecutors pointed out that McDonough had scheduled meetings in DiMasi’s office between the speaker and Joseph Lally, a software company salesman who pled guilty in March to conspiring with DiMasi, McDonough and accountant Richard Vitale to steer state contracts to Lally’s company, Cognos Corp.

Drechsler emphasized that the meeting McDonough organized for Lally was one of many meetings that McDonough, a prominent, longtime figure on Beacon Hill, requested with the speaker for many of his clients. One such meeting, he said, was for Suffolk Downs, the racetrack that has advocated for expanded gambling legislation in Massachusetts.

Lally testified last week that he worked with DiMasi, McDonough and Vitale to wire contracts to Cognos and that he arranged payments to DiMasi funneled through the speaker’s law partner, Steven Topazio.

Quinn described scheduling golf dates between Lally and DiMasi, including one in which DiMasi and Lally were scheduled to golf with former Sen. William “Biff” MacLean.

Under cross-examination from DiMasi’s attorney, Thomas Kiley, Quinn said Lally never directly requested a State House meeting with DiMasi. She also said she was not involved in any discussions about a bond bill that included funding for a performance management software contract that would later be awarded to Cognos.

Lobbyists commonly patrol Beacon Hill, roaming the hallways and flagging down lawmakers and aides they’re looking to approach regarding legislation that might impact client interests. Supporters of lobbyists say they providing crucial information to help lawmakers make informed decisions. Skeptics claim it’s often only the wealthier special interests that can afford lobbyists with significant access.

The profession is again coming under scrutiny as the trial unfolds, as witnesses testify that lobbyists often help craft the legislative language that ends up being incorporated into key laws and that high-level officials frequently engage lobbyists to discuss important issues.

Judy Meredith, a veteran human services lobbyist who is a potential defense witness in the trial, described lobbying as an essential and often misunderstood component of the legislative process.

“They’ve made lobbying look dirty and it’s not,” Meredith said when asked about the allegations leveled against DiMasi and his associates.

Meredith said lobbyists frequently trade language with lawmakers because they’re often dealing in highly technical issues. She said that despite charges that DiMasi had been plied by kickbacks, she had often won him over with policy arguments.

“I’ve convinced Sal to do a dozen things he didn’t want to do on the merits,” she said. “Read the First Amendment … it’s right in there. It’s protected along with the freedom of speech, the freedom of press.”

Quinn said she had turned over 30 notebooks to prosecutors listing potential schedule entries for DiMasi, although she said the notes were preliminary and she had no records to show whether the meetings she listed had actually occurred. The notebooks, defense attorneys pointed out, listed meetings and golf outings with lobbyists, lawmakers and others.

Quinn, who worked for DiMasi from 2007 to 2009, said she occasionally deposited checks for DiMasi that he received from Washington North, a lender operated by Vitale, DiMasi’s accountant.

Prosecutors have alleged that Vitale steered a line of credit to DiMasi at the same time he was accepting a $100,000 kickback from Cognos Corp. a software company for a $4.5 million state contract. Vitale, DiMasi and McDonough are accused of wiring two state contracts totaling $17.5 million to Cognos in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars of kickbacks.

Kiley noted that DiMasi had acknowledged the line of credit he received when he filed financial disclosure forms. Under questioning from Vitale’s lawyer, Martin Weinberg, Quinn disclosed that she turned over 30 scheduling notebooks to the prosecution, which highlighted three instances of meetings arranged with Lally.