By David Thomas and Mike Scarcella

WASHINGTON, July 23 (Reuters) - (Billable Hours is Reuters' weekly report on lawyers and money. Please send tips or suggestions to D.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com.)

Federal lobbying practices are booming as U.S. President Donald Trump's second term approaches its midpoint, with several leading firms again reporting record quarterly revenues this week.

Lobbyists said Trump's aggressive agendas on issues like trade, defense, and energy continue to drive demand. They also said that they expect their business to stay hot as the upcoming November midterm elections prompt scenario-planning and prepositioning ahead of the vote, and shifts in influence strategy afterward.

"You have a very active administration that is pushing the boundaries and limits of authorities all over the place. Companies have to respond to that," said Brian Pomper, a co-head of Akin’s lobbying & public policy practice.

Pomper also noted Trump's dealmaking style, pointing to his proclamation this week, allowing the U.S. Commerce Department to lower tariffs on aluminum for companies if they agree to build, expand or refurbish U.S.-based aluminum smelters.

The Trump administration has a "reputation for being transactional," Pomper said, creating special demands and opportunities for K Street.

Akin said this week that its lobbying revenues reached $18.26 million for the last quarter, an 11% increase compared to the second quarter of 2025 and a record for the firm.

Lobbyists are required to report quarterly revenue under federal law.

Client demand surrounding the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) partly drove law firm Brownstein Hyatt's record-breaking second quarter for lobbying, said Nadeam Elshami, who co-chairs Brownstein's government relations department. The firm reported $21.63 million in lobbying revenue, a 17% increase over the second quarter of 2025.

The NDAA is one of the few major bills that always passes, having become law annually for more than six decades. Each year, ⁠the House ​of Representatives and Senate pass their own versions of the NDAA, before ​Armed Services committee negotiators reach a compromise version that then comes up for a vote in each chamber.

"Conference is going to be important, and there's going to be a lot of lobbying around that," Elshami said.

Clients are interested in what gets attached to the NDAA, including riders not related to defense, lobbyists said. Last year's NDAA included a measure that barred transgender women from participating in athletic programs designated for women at U.S. military academies.

"It is the train that's leaving the station," Karishma Shah Page, a public policy partner at K&L Gates, said of the bill's predictable passage. The firm reported $5.5 million in lobbying revenues for the second quarter, which was flat compared to the second quarter of last year.

Florida-founded lobbying firm Ballard Partners has enjoyed particularly ballooning revenues since Trump resumed office. Ballard Partners said it brought in $33.2 million in the second quarter, up 61.1% compared to the same time period last year and a 654% increase compared to the second quarter of 2024. The firm, which previously employed former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, declined to comment.

Lobbying firm BGR Group said it has seen revenue growth nearly every quarter over the past decade, bringing in $21.8 million second quarter, a 23% increase compared to last year's second quarter, and a 96% increase compared to the second quarter of 2024.

Loren Monroe, who leads BGR Group's state and local advocacy practice, attributed rising revenues across the industry to "a president actively utilizing executive action and regulatory authority, concern over the unpredictability of growing populism on the right and left in Congress, and preparing for a large turnover in Congress regardless of who wins the majority."

Lobbying activity will spike if Democrats retake at least one chamber of Congress in the midterms, said Geoff Gonella, CEO of Cornerstone Government Affairs. The second quarter was also a record-breaking one for Cornerstone, which reported $15.49 million in lobbying revenue.

Federal lobbying spending has continually increased since 2016, surpassing $5 billion last year, according to nonprofit research group OpenSecrets.

As of April 27, companies, trade groups, and other entities have spent $1.4 billion this year, per OpenSecrets.

Plaintiffs urge judge to reject General Dynamics fee bid in antitrust lawsuit

Plaintiffs who alleged General Dynamics and other shipbuilders conspired to suppress pay for engineers and architects are urging a federal judge to reject the defense giant's bid for millions of dollars in legal fees.

In a filing, the plaintiffs argued that the company’s request seeks to penalize them for pursuing a case that survived years of litigation. The plaintiffs recently dropped their claims against General Dynamics, which had denied any wrongdoing. The plaintiffs secured $8 million in settlements from other defendants in the antitrust case in federal court in Virginia.

General Dynamics in June asked the court to force plaintiffs' lawyers to personally cover the companies' legal costs under a rarely invoked federal statute, contending that their earlier effort to continue the lawsuit was "unreasonable and vexatious." The plaintiffs' firms, including Cohen Milstein and Hagens Berman, countered that they did not pursue claims in bad faith.

Also on Billable Hours' radar this week…

--The U.S. federal judge who approved the landmark $1.5 billion Anthropic copyright settlement substantially trimmed the plaintiffs' lawyers pay, awarding $101 million to Susman Godfrey and Lieff Cabraser. That's a cut from the $187 million they'd asked for in the case, which led to the largest class action copyright settlement in U.S. history.

-- Private equity firm Uplift Investors struck its fourth law firm-related deal since launching a management services organization this year, agreeing to invest in the back-office operations of a Rhode Island personal injury firm.

Read more:

Legal heavyweights square off in $243 million Tesla crash appeal

Simpson Thacher prepares for rare malpractice trial in Florida next week

RICO gets a workout in spate of cases against injury lawyers