DNCC Hires Denver Law Firm | Legal Netlink Alliance

Friday, December 14, 2007

DNCC hires Denver law firm
Denver Business Journal - by Mark Harden Denver Business Journal
Kathleen Lavine | Business Journal

Mark Grueskin sits in front of photographs of Democratic presidents since Woodrow Wilson.View Larger
Politically connected Denver law and lobbying firm Isaacson Rosenbaum has been chosen as outside counsel for the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) as it prepares for next summer's event here.

The firm and one of its top attorneys -- Mark Grueskin, a Democrat and onetime legal counsel and legislative aide to former Colorado Gov. Richard Lamm -- will help the committee navigate federal election rules and local laws, working with the DNCC's on-staff general counsel, Susana Carbajal.

"We're kind of a legal defensive secondary," Grueskin said. "We'll watch and see how things develop, and we'll help tackle whatever legal issues require more staffing or a different kind of expertise."

He said Isaacson Rosenbaum has identified 10 areas where the DNCC may need its help before and during the Aug. 25-28 convention, from contract negotiation and employment law to campaign finance rules "and just plain political advice."

One of the firm's key roles will be to help the DNCC comply with Federal Election Commission (FEC) rules covering convention operations, Carbajal said. "Because we receive federal funds, we do have to spend those funds according to the FEC and their regulations," she said.

It's customary for a party to hire a local law firm in the convention host city to help with on-site legal work. The assignment is considered a plum for the chosen firm -- and a sign of close ties between the firm and the party.

"We're awfully proud [to be chosen]," Grueskin said. "It's gratifying that ... they hired us because there are so many different kinds of things that our law firm can do that they might need."

Carbajal -- an attorney for the Austin , Texas , firm of Brown McCarroll and a former aide to President Bill Clinton -- was named DNCC general counsel in April. She said she recommended Isaacson Rosenbaum to her committee after interviewing several local attorneys and firms.

She said she wanted a firm with solid experience in election-finance and public-policy law as well as with good relations with local leaders, and Isaacson Rosenbaum offered both strengths.

"One of the main reasons we chose [the firm] is because of Mark Grueskin. ... He was a driving force in our selection," she said.

Grueskin, a firm shareholder, is chairman of its Public Law and Policy Practice Group and is widely recognized as an election-law expert.

Grueskin -- who boasts he was the only student in his Colorado Springs fourth-grade class to vote Democratic in a mock presidential election -- has been involved in a string of high-profile political cases in recent years, representing Democrats as well as Republicans.

He represented GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Holtzman in his unsuccessful fight to face Bob Beauprez in the 2006 GOP primary. He also worked for unions in their bid to block new campaign-finance rules, and represented the state Legislature in a challenge of financial practices by the governor's office.

And this year, he aided a group seeking to redefine Amendment 41, a voter-approved measure to curtail lobbyists' gifts to state officials that some criticized as overbroad.

Isaacson Rosenbaum is well-connected in state Democratic circles. Firm shareholder Michael Feeley is a former Democratic leader of the state Senate. And Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, brought in the firm to defend his plan to freeze property-tax rates to maintain school funding in the face of Republican opposition.

Grueskin said he's been to only one other national convention before, "and I kind of snuck in there as a journalist rather than as a lawyer. So in terms of having this event in our backyard, it's as great an opportunity as we could hope for. And everybody here is dedicated to making sure the convention is an absolute success for the party and the nominee."