Lobbying world

Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) joined the law firm Arent Fox LLP as counsel in its government relations and government enforcement and white collar groups. Jones served in the Senate from 2018 to 2021. Cissy Jackson, former counsel and national security adviser to Jones, also joined the firm as counsel.

Katelyn Bunning, previously legislative director to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), was named a lobbyist at Cornerstone Government Affairs. Bunning started working for McConnell in 2012 and served as legislative director for four years.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP announced that Michael Desmond has joined the firm as a partner in the Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., offices. Desmond was previously the chief counsel at the IRS for near two years under former President Trump. He also was tax legislative counsel at the Treasury Department under former President George W. Bush. 

Sidley Austin LLP named two new partners: Thomas Ward and Ranah Esmaili. Ward previously was enforcement director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Republican and Democratic administrations. Esmaili was assistant director in the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission, where he served for over seven years.

Melissa Miller joined Ford Motor Co.’s D.C. office as government and public policy communications manager. She previously was communications director for Sen. John Hickenlooper’s (D-Colo.) 2020 Senate campaign and before that was deputy communications director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for nearly a year.

Rosario Palmieri joined the management and communications company Kellen as vice president. He previously was associate administrator for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the White House Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration. Before that, he was vice president of labor, legal and regulatory policy at the National Association of Manufacturers.

J&Z Strategies, a Democratic media and campaign consulting firm, announced that Christopher Guerrero will be vice president. He previously was director of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State for nearly two years and before that was regional campaigns director for Planned Parenthood for more than three years.