Lobby firm Clark & Weinstock joins forces with PR shop

A well-known lobby shop and a prominent public affairs firm are joining forces in Washington.

Clark & Weinstock and Mercury announced their merger on Tuesday. The deal will expand the lobbying rosters of both firms and allow Clark & Weinstock to offer polling, issue advertising and grassroots campaign services to clients.

The new firm will operate in Washington under the Mercury/Clark & Weinstock name but will be known by the Mercury brand outside the Beltway, in New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, Illinois and Pennsylvania.

{mosads}“We enhance federal lobbying capability for both firms,” former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.) told The Hill. “We have the ability to go to the next level in federal lobbying, if you will.”

Weber said he was excited about the merger.

“We frequently refer clients to public affairs firms for PR and grassroots activism,” Weber said. “I do think it’s possible for clients to get both capabilities in one firm, and I’m pretty excited about that.” 

Weber will become co-chairman of both Mercury and Mercury/Clark & Weinstock. Former Rep. Max Sandlin (D-Texas), already with Mercury, will also be a co-chairman of the new firm. 

“We are able to offer a complete range of services from polling to grassroots to grasstops to public affairs and traditional lobbying,” Sandlin said. “We will have all the best counselors under one roof.”

Both firms have a good foundation of lobbying business already in place. 

Clark & Weinstock earned nearly $2.9 million in lobbying fees for the first half of 2011, advocating on behalf of companies including Alcoa, eBay and Time Warner Cable, according to lobbying disclosure records.

Mercury has lobbied for clients such as Air Canada, the National Association of Broadcasters and Peabody Energy, earning close to $1.9 million in fees for the first six months of this year, according to lobbying disclosure records.