How to Select the Right Government Relations Team

The typical hiring process for government relations goes like this: Someone at your company hears about a bill that could affect your business. Panic sets in. You ask around for referrals. Three people recommend three different lobbyists. You schedule calls with all three, and each one sounds credible.

Then you're stuck trying to compare apples, oranges, and something that might be a grapefruit. One firm has 40 lobbyists. Another is a solo practitioner who used to be in the Legislature. The third is a law firm that bundles legal and lobbying services. They all charge different rates and promise different outcomes.

Here's a framework for making that decision based on what matters: your issue, your budget, and your timeline.

Start With Your Issue, Not Your Budget

Before you look at pricing, understand what you're trying to accomplish. Different objectives require different types of government relations support.

These ranges assume year-round engagement, not just the 140-day session. The firms that deliver results maintain relationships and position issues during the 18-month interim between sessions.

Match Firm Size to Issue Complexity

The size of the government relations team you need depends on how many committees your issue touches and whether you need bipartisan support.

When You Need a Large Multi-Client Firm (30+ lobbyists)

Large firms excel at complex, multi-committee legislation requiring coordination across both chambers and parties. If your issue affects multiple industries and you need a coalition to pass it, you need volume.

Top-tier firms can assign lobbyists to attend every relevant committee hearing, maintain relationships with both Republican and Democratic leadership, and coordinate messaging across diverse stakeholder groups. They charge $20K-$50K+ monthly because they're covering dozens of relationships simultaneously.

The downside: You're never their only client. If you're a mid-market company paying $15K per month while they have Fortune 500 clients paying $40K, guess whose calls get returned first during the final week of session when everything moves fast?

When a Mid-Tier Specialist Firm Works Better (5-20 lobbyists)

Mid-tier firms provide more direct principal involvement while maintaining sufficient capacity to cover key relationships. If your issue primarily affects one or two committees and you don't need comprehensive coalition management, a focused team often delivers better results than a large operation where you're client #47.

These firms typically charge $10K-$25K monthly. You get experienced lobbyists working your account personally instead of delegation to junior staff. The principals return your calls because you're one of 15-25 active clients, not one of 80.

When Boutique Specialists Outperform Everyone (1-5 lobbyists)

For highly technical or niche issues, boutique firms with deep expertise in your specific area often outperform larger generalist operations. If you're dealing with ERCOT regulatory matters, the two-person shop with 15 years of energy committee relationships knows more people and understands more technical details than a 40-person firm where you're assigned to someone who covers "energy, utilities, and also handles some transportation clients."

Boutique firms charge $5K-$15K monthly. Their advantage is focus and direct attention. Every call is with a principal, not an associate. Their limitation is bandwidth—they can't cover as many committees or sustain as many simultaneous relationships as larger teams.

Five Questions to Ask During Initial Conversations

Once you've narrowed your search based on issue type and firm size, these questions help you evaluate whether a specific team is the right fit.

1. Who will work my account day-to-day, and what's their committee experience?

Don't just ask who the lead lobbyist is. Ask who handles the daily work. If you're paying for a senior partner's relationships but getting a first-year associate's execution, you're overpaying.

Specifically ask about experience with the committees most relevant to your issue. A lobbyist with 10 years of experience but zero relationships with House Public Health Committee staff won't help you pass healthcare legislation, no matter how impressive their overall track record.

2. What's your approach to interim engagement?

Texas operates on a biennial legislative schedule. The 140-day regular session (January-May of odd years) is when bills pass, but the 18-month interim is when deals get positioned.

If a firm's answer focuses entirely on session strategy without discussing interim committee testimony, stakeholder meetings, and staff briefings, they're missing half the game. The best outcomes are built months before bills get filed.

3. How many active clients do you currently represent?

This tells you about bandwidth and attention. A solo practitioner with 30 clients is spread too thin. A 40-person firm with 25 clients means each client gets substantial coverage. A 10-person firm with 60 clients suggests you'll get minimal attention.

There's no perfect ratio, but you want to understand whether you're hiring a firm's primary focus or fitting into an already-crowded portfolio.

4. Can you describe a recent situation where a client's issue conflicted with another client?

Conflicts happen in government relations. The question reveals how the firm handles them. Do they drop one client? Do they decline new business to avoid conflicts? Do they somehow try to represent both sides?

Their answer tells you about their ethics and decision-making process when priorities collide.

5. What does failure look like on an engagement like ours?

This question forces honest conversation about realistic outcomes. If they pivot to only discussing their successes, they're selling rather than advising.

Good government relations teams set realistic expectations. Sometimes the best outcome is "we kept bad legislation from passing" rather than "we passed everything we wanted." If they can't describe scenarios where they wouldn't succeed, they're either inexperienced or dishonest.

Red Flags to Watch For

The Timeline Question: When to Engage

The worst time to hire government relations support is when you desperately need it. If a bill threatening your business has already been filed and assigned to committee, you've missed the most effective window for influence.

The ideal timeline depends on your objective:

• Defensive monitoring: Engage before session starts (September-December) so your team can track bill filings and respond immediately.
• Single bill strategy: Engage at least 6 months before session starts to position your issue, identify opposition, and brief key committee staff.
• Proactive legislation: Engage 12-18 months before session to develop legislative language, build coalitions, find sponsors, and prepare stakeholders.
• Ongoing regulatory work: Engage when you recognize the need, as regulatory advocacy isn't tied to legislative sessions.

If you're already in crisis mode—bill filed, hearing scheduled, opposition organized—you're hiring for damage control rather than strategic positioning. That's more expensive and less effective.

Making the Final Decision

After you've evaluated firm size, asked the key questions, and checked for red flags, the decision often comes down to fit and trust.

The right government relations team understands your industry, has relationships with the committees and agencies that regulate your space, and communicates in a way that makes you confident they're working your interests even when you can't see what they're doing.

That last part matters more than most people realize. Much of government relations happens through informal conversations you'll never witness—hallway discussions with committee staff, quick calls to gauge support, coalition partner meetings where strategy gets refined. You're paying for relationships and judgment that operate largely outside your direct observation.

If you don't trust the team to represent your interests well when you're not in the room, the relationship won't work regardless of how impressive their credentials or how competitive their pricing.

Selecting the right government relations team is one of the most important strategic decisions you'll make when engaging with Texas policy. Get it right, and you're partnering with advocates who multiply your influence and protect your interests. Get it wrong, and you're paying significant money for minimal results.

Use this framework to evaluate your options systematically. The right team exists for your situation—finding them requires clarity about what you need and discipline in assessing what they offer.