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Lobbyists, Lawyers and Communicators. The Forum at Legalcommunity

Are lobbyists really useful?

The Legalcommunity Forum was spellbinding. It started with an in-depth discussion about the complementarity between the legal profession, communicators, and professionals in public decision-making processes (lobbyists). After several case studies were presented and discussed participants tried to establish which were the topics where successful synergy between lawyers, lobbyists and communication experts recurred the most, while maintaining their own independent roles and fields of expertise.

The following took part in the discussion: Enrica Ghia (lawyer, Studio Legale Ghia), Ernesto Apa (lawyer and partner, Portolano Cavallo), Francesco Sciaudone (lawyer and partner, Grimaldi studio legale) and Andrea Sarto (Havas PR).

Nicola Di Molfetta (Legalcommunity) moderated the session.

As lobbyists, what prompted us to initiate this kind of interlocution with several law firms?

An awareness, based on years of experience, that potential synergies between lobbyists and lawyers are only marginally exploited.

What are the most common ‘misunderstandings’ that compromise successful collaboration?

a)   The view that a lobbyist is a “useless double”.

b)   The view that a lobbyist is a wheeler-dealer

c)   The view that lobbying can be done by the law firm itself.

Here is the article written after the debate and published in MAG, the Legalcommunity magazine.