Greenberg Traurig

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Greenberg Traurig, LLP is a Miami-based 1,350-lawyer full-service international law firm "with the fourth-largest number of lawyers in the United States and eighth-largest worldwide." The firm was founded in 1967 by Miami lawyer Mel Greenberg. "Much of Greenberg Traurig's growth has been achieved through several mergers, including its 1998 pairing with Atlanta entertainment practice Katz, Smith & Cohen, and its 1999 acquisition of Minkin & Snyder." [1][2][3][4]

Lobbying

"In 1998, Greenberg Traurig was named one of the top lobbying firms in the nation by Fortune magazine. The Firm was ranked No. 40 among the nation's top lobbying firms having 'the most power and access in the business.'" [5]

Bush-Greenberg Traurig Connections

The following enumerations were published in September 2004 by, among others, the Portland Indymedia. Some sources have been provided in support.

1. "Represented President George W. Bush in the Bush-Gore 2000 Florida election vote recount."

2. "Personally represents Florida Governor Jeb Bush."

3. "Hired son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on election day 2000--after which Justice Scalia cast one of the 5 to 4 deciding votes which placed Bush in presidency." re John F. Scalia

4. "Miami-headquartered firm partially funded/sponsored delegation to Israel by House-Senate Armed Services Committee members and government contractors to witnes and be briefed on interrogation resistance procedures and torture techniques ... One of lobbyists joining them to Israel included Jack London, CEO, CACI International, the American defense contractor implicated by Major General Antonio M. Taguba in outsourced Iraqi torture at Abu Ghraib prison." See Taguba Report.

5. "Firm has prominent administrative positions in Massachusetts 9/11 Fund which also involves Bush family banking house Brown Brothers Harriman."

6. "One appointed as General Counsel of the Department of the Navy and its Office of Naval Intelligence just 90 days before the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon."

7. "Firm works with 9-11 victims on planning out their U.S. gov't hushmail/bribery estates."

8. "Firm partner is Marvin S. Rosen, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Finance Chairman who supervised activities of convicted fund-raiser and DNC vice-chairman of finance John Huang who had to return half of $3 million+ raised by him because of contributions from illegal foreign sources.

9. Bush still owes Greenberg firm nearly one million dollars for work done by dozens of lawyers and paralegals--leaving some to question why a Republican candidate would hire a Democratic lawyer from a Democratic firm ...

"Greenberg Traurig has yet to receive more than $314,000 in legal fees charged to a Bush committee during the 2000 Florida recount ... As a corporation, Greenberg’s unpaid tab represents a massive in-kind campaign contribution, far larger than anything that went unreported by DeLay. But it appears to be legal: corporations are allowed to donate any amount to the nebulous type of committee employed during the recount. It would, however, violate the committee's self-imposed $5,000 contribution limit from individual donors. ... Greenberg’s leadership has apparently declined to press the issue. Jill Perry, Greenberg’s director of marketing and public affairs, declined to comment," according to The Raw Story's John Byrne, May 5, 2005.

To this list can be added:
10. U.S. presidential election, 2004:

11. Greenberg Traurig represented Diebold Election Systems, Inc.:

  • According to Common Cause, Greenberg Traurig earned $275,000, from 2002-to-date:
  • "Diebold Election Systems, owned by Diebold Incorporated, is one of the leading voting machine vendors across the country. The company has been the focus of a national debate about the role partisan politics should play in the voting machine selection process. Walden O'Dell, Chairman, President and CEO of Diebold Inc., is a Pioneer for President Bush’s reelection campaign, and has hosted a fundraiser with Vice President Cheney that netted $500,000. (Atlanta Journal Constitution 12/6/03) Diebold Inc. and Mr. O’Dell gave $100,965 in soft money to the Republican Party during the 2002 election cycle on the national level. Diebold Inc.’s executives and employees have given $63,290 in campaign contributions at the federal level since 1999, all but $4,775 was donated to Republican candidates and committees. (Center for Responsive Politics) Chairman and CEO of Diebold Inc., Walden O’Dell, rang the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on August 27, 2003. O’Dell also stated he is committed to 'helping Ohio deliver its electoral votes to the President next year.' (N.Y. Times 12/2/03)."
  • On behalf of Diebold, in 2004 alone, Greenberg Traurig lobbied: "A8833B, S6207, A9731, Budget Issues, Voting/Ballot Regulations, A9725, A9433 Electronic Voting Machines, Voting Regulations, HAVA Funding, Full Face Ballot."

12. The same Greenberg Traurig lawyer who represented Elian Gonzalez ([Barbara Lagoa http://www.3dca.flcourts.org/Judges/31-Lagoa.shtml]) just prior to the 2000 election also represented George W Bush in the 2000 recount. http://www.aclufl.org/legislature_courts/legal_department/briefs_complaints/elianamicus.cfm

Jack Abramoff and the Indian Casinos

  • In March 2004, Jack Abramoff, "one of K Street’s top Republican rainmakers, ... stepped down from lobbying shop Greenberg Traurig amidst a Senate investigation into the multi-million dollar fees that he charged several American Indian tribes since 2001," Roll Call reported. [6]
  • According to the Washington Post, February 12, 2005, "Greenberg Traurig pressured Abramoff to resign from the firm last year when his fees and financial arrangements were disclosed in a Washington Post report. The firm said at the time it was unaware of certain personal financial transactions by Abramoff, but it has declined to provide details of what Abramoff told his partners about his dealings with Scanlon and the tribes." [7]
  • Legal Times reported October 4, 2004, that at the September 29, 2004, Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing, "Greenberg Traurig, escaped without a scratch. In fact, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., went out of his way to praise the firm for cooperating fully with the committee's investigation into Abramoff and Scanlon. And Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., portrayed the firm as a victim ... But questions remain: How was a firm stacked with hundreds of legal and lobbying professionals unable to see what was going on with their flamboyant and controversial partner? And will Greenberg be able to use ignorance of Abramoff's activities as a defense against investigations and possible litigation?"
"Privately, current and former Greenberg lobbyists and lawyers, as well as those who have had close working relationships with the firm, describe a firm culture where few direct questions were asked of Abramoff because of his rainmaking abilities. Abramoff's practice brought in about $10 million a year, and without him, Greenberg's D.C. lobbying revenues have tanked -- dropping more than 90 percent in the first half of 2004, according to lobbying disclosure records.
"E-mails, checks and other documents released by the committee -- many of them subpoenaed from Greenberg -- show Abramoff and Scanlon collecting tens of millions of dollars and shuffling the money through a network of foundations and side businesses. The transactions, Senate investigators contend, were designed to blur just how much cash was being collected and where it was coming from.
"Greenberg insiders assert they had no idea about Abramoff's potentially illegal activities. 'He flat out lied to us,' says one former colleague of Abramoff. ... But Greenberg may not have an easy time distancing itself from the scandal and avoiding possible liability by painting itself as an unwitting victim of an errant employee." [8]

Key People

Shareholders, Of Counsel, Associates

Contact details

1221 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
Telephone (305) 579-0500
URL http://www.gtlaw.com

SourceWatch Resources

SourceWatch Resources re Jack Abramoff

External links

Corporate Profiles

Articles & Commentary

Thomas Kramer

Jack Abramoff and Indian Casinos

Bush Connections

Leonard N. Ross and Philadelphia Mayor John Street