Bond joins top St. Louis law firm, pledges not to lobby
Retired Missouri Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond announced Tuesday he will return to practicing law and the firm of Thompson Coburn, but will not lobby Congress on behalf of the firm’s clients. Bond acknowledged in a St. Louis press conference Tuesday morning that he is barred from engaging in lobbying activities for two years under the ...
Retired Missouri Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond announced Tuesday he will return to practicing law and the firm of Thompson Coburn, but will not lobby Congress on behalf of the firm's clients.
Retired Missouri Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond announced Tuesday he will return to practicing law and the firm of Thompson Coburn, but will not lobby Congress on behalf of the firm’s clients.
Bond acknowledged in a St. Louis press conference Tuesday morning that he is barred from engaging in lobbying activities for two years under the law, but said that lobbying was not why he decided to become a partner in the firm in the first place.
"I joined this firm to be a lawyer, not to be a lobbyist. I do not plan to be involved in lobbying Congress," Bond said.
Calling the restrictions on lobbying by former members of Congress "draconian," Bond nevertheless pledged to abide by them and not discuss matters of policy with his former colleagues in any prohibited way.
"If I see them on the street, I can say hi, but that’s about all," Bond said.
Bond will be based primarily in the firm’s Washington office but will also work out of the St. Louis office and maintain his second residence in Mexico, Missouri.
"At Thompson Coburn, Bond will advise clients in the areas of international trade, biotechnology, agriculture, cyberlaw and transportation and also consult on client issues that will bring economic development and job opportunities to the State of Missouri," the firm said in a press release.
Bond added that he will be making semi frequent trips to Asia as part of Missouri’s initiative to increase its international trade with China and other countries in that region.
Thompson Coburn is one of the largest law firms in Missouri with over 350 attorneys. When asked whether he would fit in with some of the firm’s more Democratic leaning partners, Bond said, "Gee, I hope I don’t screw up their reputation."
After a long career that included being elected Missouri’s youngest governor in 1973 at age 33 and serving 24 years in the Senate, Bond was asked whether he was taking on the new job for the money, for the excitement, or for some other reason. He indicated that money was at least somewhat a factor.
"My wife told me she married me for better or for worse, but not for lunch," Bond said.
Josh Rogin covers national security and foreign policy and writes the daily Web column The Cable. His column appears bi-weekly in the print edition of The Washington Post. He can be reached for comments or tips at josh.rogin@foreignpolicy.com.
Previously, Josh covered defense and foreign policy as a staff writer for Congressional Quarterly, writing extensively on Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantánamo Bay, U.S.-Asia relations, defense budgeting and appropriations, and the defense lobbying and contracting industries. Prior to that, he covered military modernization, cyber warfare, space, and missile defense for Federal Computer Week Magazine. He has also served as Pentagon Staff Reporter for the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's leading daily newspaper, in its Washington, D.C., bureau, where he reported on U.S.-Japan relations, Chinese military modernization, the North Korean nuclear crisis, and more.
A graduate of George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs, Josh lived in Yokohama, Japan, and studied at Tokyo's Sophia University. He speaks conversational Japanese and has reported from the region. He has also worked at the House International Relations Committee, the Embassy of Japan, and the Brookings Institution.
Josh's reporting has been featured on CNN, MSNBC, C-Span, CBS, ABC, NPR, WTOP, and several other outlets. He was a 2008-2009 National Press Foundation's Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellow, 2009 military reporting fellow with the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism and the 2011 recipient of the InterAction Award for Excellence in International Reporting. He hails from Philadelphia and lives in Washington, D.C. Twitter: @joshrogin
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