Bottom Line

• FOREIGN POLICY. The Republic of Kosovo hired Alston & Bird to work on several issues, including “deepening bilateral cooperation between the Government of Kosovo and the United States” and working to increase the amount of foreign direct investment and trade with the country, among other things. Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) is the lead lobbyist on the account, according to the contract disclosed with the Justice Department. The one-year contract is worth 780,000 euros, or more than $837,000.

• Japan’s government has hired its 23rd firm, according to new Justice Department filings. Maia Comeau signed a one-month, $30,000 contract through Global Government Affairs Solutions to organize two “educational” events for members and staff on Capitol Hill, in addition to “other thought leaders,” in February or March. One event is a reception, and the other is a dinner for members of Congress to meet with Takuya Sasayama, minister and head of chancery at the Embassy of Japan.

{mosads}• LGBTQ. American Continental Group is lobbying for Project Right Side, a Republican organization focused on providing “research and analysis to improve the political climate for LGBTQ issues.” The lobbyists on the account are David Urban, a Republican close to President Trump, and Manus Cooney, who served as the chief counsel and staff director for the Senate Judiciary Committee. Disclosure forms say the duo will be working on “common law [and] civil rights issues.”

• CUBA. Roswell Park Cancer Institute, which for years has been working with scientists from the Center for Molecular Immunology in Cuba, is now collaborating on a clinical trial for a lung cancer vaccine. The Roswell Park Cancer Institute hired Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, which has a large practice dedicated to doing business with Cuba, to help it navigate Cuba policy, which might be changing under the Trump administration. The bipartisan contract includes four lobbyists, including Scott Parven, the head of the firm’s Cuba practice, and Republican Geoff Verhoff, who has been active in GOP campaigns.