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20 ¦ JULY 27, 2020 NEWS

¦ From PANDEMIC on PAGE 19 tice, said in an email. “A major driver of this work has
check Protection Program and Main Street Lending of course been the ongoing pandemic, which con-
Program; the more-than-likely prospect of more tinues to have an enormous effect on the economy
funds and aid being necessary now that the out- and touches pretty much every sector and industry.”
breaks have increased so dramatically in the last Bates and Lampkin both agreed that the recent
month; and the potential of a second term for the surge in U.S. COVID-19 cases and the anticipat-
current administration, which could come with a ed relief package being debated in the House and
variety of executive orders surrounding companies Senate would continue to fuel growth in the third
in China that have an effect on U.S. businesses. quarter as well.
“When you look at COVID-19, the line of demar- “Looking ahead to the third quarter, the response
cation is March 13,” Lampkin said in an interview. to COVID-19 will continue to be a major driver of
“If you would have asked us in February if we activity as we prepare for the 2020 elections and
thought there would be a rush of business, I would the changes and uncertainties that they may bring,”
have thought perhaps a little. But no one could have Bates said in the same email.
anticipated this sort of response.” As lobbying is a fairly static and cyclical revenue
Lampkin said on top of the usual suspects in- generator, it isn’t surprising to find the same names
volved in active lobbying, the firm saw an increase at the top of the revenue list quarter after quarter.
in business from companies and industry groups Over the past couple of years, it has been a back-
that normally don’t pay that close attention to the and-forth between D.C. mainstay Akin Gump and
D.C. lobbying scene. Colorado-based Brownstein for the top spot.
“Companies realized they needed to get smart on Akin took Q1 of 2020, while Brownstein vaulted
these regulations real fast,” he said. back to lead Q2. Both firms have a significant rev-
And he isn’t alone in citing the pandemic as the enue lead over the remaining top firms.
primary driver for lobbying growth. ¦

“The level of activity that we have seen over the Patrick Smith, based in New York, covers the busi-
last six months is unprecedented, evidenced by ness of law, including the ways law firms compete
back-to-back quarters of more than $12 million in for clients and talent, cannabis law and marketing
LDA revenue, which are our strongest ever,” Hunter innovation. Reach him at [email protected] or on
Bates, co-chair of Akin’s public law and policy prac- Twitter at @nycpatrickd

No Start Date for Connecticut Jury Trials,
But Bench Trials Resume

They are back! By Robert Storace

who presides over complex litigation in Hartford
While it’s not clear when jury trials will Superior Court.
restart in Connecticut, bench trials in the Nut- The trial, which is being conducted on the Mi-
meg State have resumed. crosoft Teams platform, is “a step in the right
What is believed to be the first bench trial since direction,” said Jonathan Shapiro, a Middletown
the health pandemic shut down court business in partner who is representing six of the defendants
March—the trade secret case of East Hartford’s Dur- in the matter.
A-Flex against 10 defendants—resumed remotely “My immediate reaction when I heard we were
Wednesday in front of Judge Thomas Moukawsher, moving forward with the trial was ‘It’s a relief to be

CONNECTICUT
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