CR, County Hire a DC Cloutslinger

Cedar Rapids and Linn County have hired the same high-powered lobbying firm to direct our push for federal disaster aid, according to the Gazette's intrepid Adam Belz:

The city of Cedar Rapids and Linn County are each hiring the same national law firm to lobby Congress for federal flood recovery money.

The Linn Board of Supervisors expects to vote later this week on a $108,000 contract for one year with Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, a firm with an office on K Street in Washington D.C.

"We would be doing this in conjunction with the city," Linn County Supervisor Linda Langston said.

Cedar Rapids hired Sonnenschein in July, and is paying the firm $10,000 per month for no longer than a year.

Our local leaders didn't pick just anybody to carry our DC water.

Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal ranked 13th on the Legal Times' "Influence 50" list in March, which ranks the Capitol's top lobby shops by gross revenue in 2007. The firm made $22.8 million and employs 20 lobbyists, according to the article.

S, N & R Chairman Elliott Portnoy ranked 18th on Washingtonian magazine's list of the top 50 "Hired Guns." The magazine says he specialized in asbestos legislation. Imagine what he could do for mold.

But CR and LC won't be among the legal giant's biggest name clients. For instance, the firm is representing

Dan Rather in his lawsuit against CBS. And it counts best selling legal thriller novelist

Scott Turow  among its partners. Maybe his next novel will be "Epic Surge."