Former Rep. Billy Tauzin joins son’s lobby firm

Former Rep. Billy Tauzin has left Alston & Bird to work at a lobby firm founded by his son.

Thomas Tauzin launched Tauzin Consultants in 2011, and his father had been helping the firm in a consulting role while also working as special legislative counsel at Alston.

{mosads}The elder Tauzin is leaving Alston on good terms, according to his former employer, and will not be taking top clients such as the National Retail Federation, ConocoPhillips and Experian with him to his son’s firm.

“Having more time to work with my son Tom and my colleagues … at Tauzin Consultants is an opportunity I have long desired and will cherish for even longer, as we serve an expanding list of clients and exciting new young companies,” Tauzin, the former chair of the House Energy & Commerce Committee, said in a statement.

Among Tauzin Consultants’ largest clients are two medical device companies, Cure Care and PillGuard Medication Delivery Systems.

Billy Tauzin retired from Congress in 2005 and became the leader of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the main lobbying group for the drug industry. He headed to Alston & Bird after retiring from the trade association.

Tauzin Consultants banked nearly $1.8 million in lobbying fees in 2013, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Alston, meanwhile, has seen its lobbying revenue fall in recent years. In 2013, the law and lobbying firm’s advocacy fees dropped by 10 percent over the previous year to $12.2 million.

Former Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) left Alston last year to start her own venture, called Lincoln Policy Group, which has signed clients such as Comcast, Monsanto, Wal-Mart and the Las Vegas Sands Corp.