Close Ties To Ehrlich Lucrative For Lawyer
Ethics Experts Express Concerns

By Matthew Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s personal lawyer has parlayed his close ties to the governor into a booming Annapolis government relations practice.

And because David Hamilton has emerged as a behind-the-scenes power broker without ever registering as a lobbyist, he's been able to do what no Maryland lobbyist can: help clients get access to the governor and other policymakers, and then ask those same clients to donate to Ehrlich's 2006 reelection campaign.

State ethics experts say it sounds problematic for Hamilton not to register, but Hamilton says it's not: "I know exactly where that line is, and I am very careful not to cross it. I do lawyering, not lobbying."

The question of whether he should register as a lobbyist is not insignificant in a town where the conduct of a close friend of then-Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D), as well as two full-blown lobbying scandals, prompted strict new standards for those exerting influence in the State House.

In 2003, when Ehrlich became Maryland's first Republican governor in more than a generation, he brought with him a new set of insiders, shaking up a notoriously insular and clubby state capital. Several have drawn unwanted attention to Ehrlich: among them, a power company lobbyist who arranged hunting trips for utility regulators and a Comcast executive who helped Ehrlich's wife get a television production job.

Hamilton's activities have remained low-key, though, even as his firm developed a portfolio of clients who sought influence on policy decisions with the new administration. And he has represented these clients while continuing to raise money for the governor, including at one point serving as co-chairman of a committee called "Lawyers for Ehrlich."

Because he is not registered, Hamilton's activities are subject to none of the rigorous disclosure requirements lawmakers have placed on lobbyists. He does not, for example, have to disclose meetings that he personally arranged and attended for clients with Ehrlich.

Hamilton said he has been able to maintain his unusual perch by farming out his clients' lobbying needs to those who are already registered in Annapolis. As head of government relations for the firm Ober Kaler, Hamilton entered into what he calls a "strategic relationship" with lobbyist William Pitcher. "Bill lobbies, and we handle legal issues for clients," he said.

"It all fits in nice little blocks. That's how we planned it."

Hamilton said he has consulted with the lawyer for the State Ethics Commission about the arrangement. The commission's executive director, Suzanne S. Fox, confirmed that the attorney offered general ethics advice to Hamilton's firm but that he did not explicitly bless this setup, nor would he.

Former Maryland ethics commission chairman Charles O. Monk II said he found the arrangement troubling. "I would say, if those are his activities, that is lobbying, and he should have registered," he said.

A review of records obtained through the state's public information act shows the range of Hamilton's activities on behalf of his clients.

On Dec. 15, 2005, for instance, Hamilton brought the governor to meet top executives at Verizon Wireless's new offices in Hanover, according to the governor's calendar. From there, Ehrlich and Hamilton drove to Baltimore, where Hamilton and his law partners at the firm Ober Kaler hosted a fundraiser for Ehrlich.

Two weeks later, on Jan. 6, Hamilton organized and hosted a meeting of wireless communications lobbyists to discuss Maryland legislation that could help cut taxes for Verizon and other carriers, according to an e-mail given to The Washington Post.

Hamilton said the meeting with Verizon Wireless executives lasted five minutes and pertained to labor concerns and economic development issues. A company spokesman, John Johnson, said Verizon hired Hamilton as a legal consultant and did not contract with a lobbyist through his firm.

"To me, that sounds like highly questionable behavior," said Bobbie Walton of the public interest group Common Cause Maryland, which sounded alarms seven years ago when Glendening's close friend, attorney Lance W. Billingsley, was being paid to arrange meetings between executives and the governor. Billingsley, who was then chairman of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, defended his conduct, saying he was acting as a "lawyer-advocate." But public criticism led to ethics rules forbidding any such activity by regents.

Hamilton rejected the comparison: "To say David Hamilton equals Lance Billingsley is unfair and untrue.

"We have taken great care to avoid the appearance of impropriety and to abide by all rules that govern what we do or have done," he added in a statement.

Hamilton's visibility is on the rise as one of the closest confidants of the governor. When Ehrlich needed to defend his administration against a lawsuit filed by the Baltimore Sun, he brought in Hamilton to be what the governor called "my pro bono lawyer." And as a court battle looms over new election laws, Ehrlich is again turning to Hamilton for counsel.

The two have been friends since they joined Ober Kaler together out of law school, both proteges of another attorney at the firm, Jervis S. Finney. Finney is now on the state payroll as Ehrlich's chief counsel.

Hamilton was active in the governor's campaign and served as the chief counsel to Ehrlich's transition team. Early in Ehrlich's term, Hamilton helped form a nonprofit group to defray the costs of hospitality events at the 2004 Preakness. The group sought as much as $50,000 apiece from Maryland business executives in exchange for golf dates and private receptions with the governor.

When news of the funding plan broke, a series of March 2004 e-mails shows Hamilton worked with Ehrlich's office to head off bad publicity. In one e-mail to Ehrlich communications director Paul E. Schurick, Hamilton wrote, "Please tell the Gov that my chest hurts a bit from the spear I've taken."

Over the past three years, Hamilton said, his relationship with the governor has had a positive impact on Ober Kaler's bottom line. "We didn't have a government relations practice before he was elected," Hamilton said in an interview. "But clients started coming to us and saying, 'Can you help us?' And it's worked out pretty well."

Business has been so good, in fact, that Hamilton has recently been talking to lobbyists about joining the firm and expanding its presence. The arrangement has benefited Pitcher as well. In 2002, Glendening's last year as governor, Pitcher reported $384,000 in earnings. In 2005, the most recent available report, his earnings were nearly $710,000.

Both men said there are instances in which they both attended meetings with lawmakers or other state officials. For example, Hamilton client Barletta Willis LLC has controversial plans to develop Baltimore County's Sparrows Point Shipyard as a liquid natural gas terminal and has sought state money to help clean up pollution there and dredge the waters offshore.

"Barletta asked David if he would help them get state assistance to improve the property with brownfields funds and dredging," Pitcher said. "He told them, 'You should retain our lobbyist, and we can all work together.' "

And they did. Hamilton and Pitcher met with Sen. Norman R. Stone Jr. (D-Baltimore County), who represents the community, and with Sen. Edward J. Kasemeyer (D-Baltimore County), who oversees the capital budget.

"One day, he just walked into my office, he and Bill Pitcher, and said the old Baltimore dry dock needs to be up and operating and he was trying to figure out how to get some state funding to help that company," Kasemeyer recalled. "He [Hamilton] wanted to know if there was anything I could do to get some help for the company, if there were state funds available."

Hamilton said all this is consistent with the state's lobbying rules. "Bill engages in the sort of dialogue that meets the definition of lobbying under the state statute; I am there to explain legal issues surrounding the client," he said.

Hamilton also approached officials in Baltimore County to get help softening opposition to the liquid natural gas facility, Stone said.

The team of Hamilton and Pitcher also did extensive work for BAA, an airport developer that sought a $130 million state contract to run retail operations at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The battle was hard-fought. The existing contractor, HMSHost Corp., argued that the specifications were drawn up in such a manner that only BAA could win.

Pitcher said he was assisting BAA with the procurement and brought in Hamilton to help with legal issues. The two met with members of the Legislative Black Caucus worried about the fate of African Americans who had contracts with HMSHost, Pitcher said. And together they went to the March 2004 Board of Public Works meeting at which Ehrlich cast the deciding vote to give BAA the contract.

This February, when executives from BAA's British parent company came to Maryland, Hamilton helped arrange a meeting with Ehrlich at the governor's mansion.

Hamilton said his actions should in no way be construed as lobbying. He says that's why he brought Pitcher along.

"My take on it is, I don't know how lobbyists do their business," he said. "That's why we hire them."