Issue Management

Williams Mullen concentrates on issue management and advocacy before the executive branch and the legislature. In order for a lobbying strategy to be successful, all aspects of the process must be considered, not just discrete components. Our team does not compartmentalize government relations campaigns. With a comprehensive understanding of the political process, the media cycle, the traditional local players, and the public policies, laws and regulations that could impact our clients’ business, our team shapes the most effective messaging and strategy for our clients.

Williams Mullen concentrates on issue management and advocacy before the executive branch and the legislature. In order for a lobbying strategy to be successful, all aspects of the process must be considered, not just discrete components. Our team does not compartmentalize government relations campaigns. With a comprehensive understanding of the political process, the media cycle, the traditional local players, and the public policies, laws and regulations that could impact our clients’ business, our team shapes the most effective messaging and strategy for our clients.

Our Government Group works with clients to develop government relations strategies that encompass:

• Crafting effective legislative and regulatory proposals.  Having a well-developed strategy and legislative or regulatory “ask” is the key to success at the state level. Through our combined experience and skills, our team assesses the political realties, likelihood of passage, demands of our clients’ business environment, and potential oppositional forces and uses this collective information as the basis for a well-reasoned and effective legislative campaign.
• Utilizing and creating grassroots support.  Public opinion and constituent outcry are persuasive motivators for legislators. Our team taps into the potential for grassroots support by utilizing traditional and new-age media outlets and manages these campaigns so that they effectively target the appropriate legislators and audiences.
• Developing relationships with business, professional and trade associations and with private sector constituencies.  Building coalitions is an important component of successful government relations campaigns—it refines messaging, aligns interests, and, most importantly, maximizes resources. We identify and approach potential allies for clients and organize formal or informal coalitions.
• Assessing our client’s political strengths and weaknesses.  Each of our clients is uniquely positioned to achieve success: some have developed strong relationships with legislators, others have a strong footprint throughout the state but have failed to make this connection. Most of our clients provide, or have the potential to provide, solutions to problems or issues important to legislators or, they are associated with an industry that has been cast in a negative light and they want to promote a better understanding of their industry and company. No matter what our clients’ position, Williams Mullen is able to develop strategies that utilize individual strengths and mitigates weaknesses. As part of our representation, we perform an initial survey of our clients’ “political footprint” and determine what relationships we can build on and where we will have to find additional support.
• Building and maintaining political support.  Whether through plant or site visits throughout the state or simply a meet-and-greet with a company’s representative, generating political support requires knowledge of the issues and the process. Our team works hard to ensure that clients are appropriately leveraging their individual strengths.
• Building a focused network of support in the General Assembly through outreach to legislators. Our extensive network of contacts with legislators, personal staff members and committee staff members has been integral to Williams Mullen’s continued success. Merely having the connections is not sufficient, however, if they are inadequately utilized. Our professionals will identify the most powerful and appropriate lawmakers and staff for a particular issue, and then will build a network of support to achieve results for our clients.
• Managing the legislative process so that our clients’ proposals are not derailed by political or procedural hurdles. It happens all too often that solid legislative initiatives are stalled in the legislative process by extraneous political factors. Using our extensive knowledge of and experience with the procedural and political processes, our team works to ensure that our clients’ efforts stay on track during the legislative process.