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Lobbyist, lawyer Thomas H. Boggs Jr. dead at 73 Lobbyist, lawyer Thomas H. Boggs Jr. dead at 73
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Thomas H. Boggs Jr., who for years was at the epicenter of Washington legal, business and political circles as the city’s marquee name in lobbying and political fund-raising, died Sept. 15 at his home in Chevy Chase. He was 73. Thomas H. Boggs Jr., who sat for decades at the epicenter of Washington legal, business and political circles as the city’s marquee name in lobbying and political fund-raising, died Sept. 15 at his home in Chevy Chase. He was 73.
The cause was an apparent heart attack, said his sister, the broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts.The cause was an apparent heart attack, said his sister, the broadcast journalist Cokie Roberts.
With a gregarious charisma that even his nemeses among good-government groups found hard to resist, Mr. Boggs spent four decades as a heavyweight in Washington influence peddling. He had a shrewd understanding of how the city operated outside the public view — how to get to people in a position of power and how to win their support. With a gregarious charisma that even his nemeses among good-government groups found hard to resist, Mr. Boggs spent four decades as a heavyweight in Washington influence peddling. Sometimes attending three fundraisers in a single night, he had a shrewd understanding of how the city operated behind the public view — how to get to people in a position of power and how to win their support.
“The best lobbyist in Washington is a member of Congress who agrees with you and is willing to lobby for you,” he once told an interviewer. “He may not want to play a front role if he has a constituency that is against what you are trying to get him to do, but your best bet is still to try to convince a member to be your lobbyist.”“The best lobbyist in Washington is a member of Congress who agrees with you and is willing to lobby for you,” he once told an interviewer. “He may not want to play a front role if he has a constituency that is against what you are trying to get him to do, but your best bet is still to try to convince a member to be your lobbyist.”
By pedigree, Mr. Boggs had grown up in a home where politics was the family business. His father, a Louisiana congressman, rose to U.S. House majority leader and died in a plane crash over Alaska in 1972. His mother, known as Lindy, won the special election for her husband’s seat and served nine terms in Congress before President Clinton named her U.S. ambassador to the Holy See at the Vatican. By pedigree, Mr. Boggs had grown up in a home where Democratic politics was the family business. His father, a Louisiana congressman, rose to U.S. House majority leader and died in a plane crash over Alaska in 1972. His mother, known as Lindy, won the special election for her husband’s seat and served nine terms in Congress before President Clinton named her U.S. ambassador to the Holy See at the Vatican.
“Tommy” Boggs, as he was widely known, entered the law and lobbying trade soon after graduating from Georgetown University law school in 1965. A few years later, he made a brief but unsuccessful run for Congress representing suburban Maryland. “Tommy” Boggs, as he was widely known, entered the law and lobbying trade soon after graduating from Georgetown University law school in 1965. A few years later, he made an unsuccessful run for Congress representing suburban Maryland, an experience that made him even more sympathetic to the needs of political aspirants and survivors.
He rose to the apogee of influence in the wake of Watergate-era reforms that saw an “explosion and diffusion” of committee oversight and power, said Charles Lewis, an author of books on money in politics and founder of the nonprofit watchdog group the Center for Public Integrity.He rose to the apogee of influence in the wake of Watergate-era reforms that saw an “explosion and diffusion” of committee oversight and power, said Charles Lewis, an author of books on money in politics and founder of the nonprofit watchdog group the Center for Public Integrity.
The firm Mr. Boggs was most identified with, Patton Boggs, continued to enjoy a formidable presence and routinely topped the list of most profitable — raking in a whopping $40 million last year in lobbying fees. The firm Mr. Boggs was most identified with, long known as Patton Boggs and Blow, was an early leader in the “revolving door” method of hiring former members of Congress. It developed a client base that included oil, drug, insurance and chemical companies, trial lawyers groups seeking to head off tort reform, and even the candymaker Mars.
Over the years, the company joined the lobbying effort to save the carmaker Chrysler from bankruptcy and worked to persuade Congress in 1980 to approve federal loan guarantees of up to $1.5 billion. Working for the American Bankers Association, Mr. Boggs helped argue for the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act, a Depression-era law that prohibited commercial banks from combining with brokerage houses. The repeal, part of a larger appetite for deregulation in the late 1990s, is often said to have played a significant role in worsening the financial collapse of the late 2000s. The result was that Mr. Boggs was routinely on lists of the most effective lobbyists in the country and his business topped the list of most profitable lobbying shops — raking in tens of millions of dollars annually.
But Patton Boggs was subsumed earlier this summer by the larger Squire Sanders law firm because of declining revenue and high-profile departures of partners, prompted in part by setbacks for the firm in a battle with Chevron. Neither other namesake partner had the same gusto for publicity, allowing the entrepreneurial and swashbuckling Mr. Boggs to fashion its public reputation to his “hired gun” style.
National Journal called the firm “an icon of Washington’s mercenary culture” and wrote of Mr. Boggs, a Democrat who gave large amounts of money to Democratic officeseekers, that he was “ready to cash in on Clinton.” Rather than protesting, Mr. Boggs reportedly put the article on his office wall, explaining that the aggressively descriptive language was likely to lure more business.
Over the years, the company joined the lobbying effort to save the carmaker Chrysler from bankruptcy and worked to persuade Congress in 1980 to approve federal loan guarantees of up to $1.5 billion. With his Democratic connections, he saw a burst of influence with the election of Jimmy Carter to the White House in 1976 and he became a go-to figure on tax legislation. He also worked for oil and construction companies eager to see the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System come to fruition in the 1970s.
During the Reagan years, Mr. Boggs continued to wield considerable power because of the Democratically controlled Congress. He then saw his prospects surge after the 1992 presidential election of Bill Clinton. A Patton Boggs partner, Ronald H. Brown, was the Democratic National Committee Chairman and was named Clinton’s commerce secretary. Another Patton Boggs partner, Lanny J. Davis, became a White House special counsel for Clinton.
With the Republican retaking of power both houses of Congress by 1995, Mr. Boggs began to take a strong interest in GOP fundraisers and brought in lawyers with strong ties to that party.
For the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and organizations of insurance underwriters, Patton Boggs worked to scuttle the Clinton-era healthcare reforms out of concern over a cap on malpractice claims and other limitations on profitmaking.
Working for the American Bankers Association, Mr. Boggs helped argue for the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act, a Depression-era law that prohibited commercial banks from combining with brokerage houses. The repeal, part of a larger appetite for deregulation in the late 1990s, is often said to have played a significant role in worsening the financial collapse of the late 2000s.
Patton Boggs also worked for foreign entities, including some that were highly unsavory. They included Amigos del Pais (Friends of the Nation), an association of Guatemalan businessmen who in the early 1980s wanted to replenish U.S. military assistance for President Romeo Lucas Garcia, a general accused on human rights abuses during his country’s long civil war.
Despite his own political ideology, Mr. Boggs was ideologically flexible in his choice of clients in order to see his firm endure and flourish.
“When the Republicans take over the White House, the business community basically thinks they can get a lot done,” he told Denver Business Journal in 2001, explaining why Patton Boggs was on the U.S. Supreme Court brief for GOP candidate George W. Bush during the contested 2000 presidential election. “So we’ve always done better as a law firm ... when the Republicans control the White House.”
Patton Boggs (it had long since dropped Blow from its name) was subsumed earlier this summer by the larger Squire Sanders law firm because of declining revenue and high-profile departures of partners, prompted in part by setbacks for the firm in a battle with Chevron.
Patton Boggs had sided with plaintiffs seeking payment from the oil giant over toxic oil waste left behind in Ecuador decades ago. But Chevron had alleged wrongdoing on the part of the plaintiffs and Patton Boggs regarding a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an Ecuador court in 2011. The firm recently settled its dispute with Chevron, paying the oil company $15 million.Patton Boggs had sided with plaintiffs seeking payment from the oil giant over toxic oil waste left behind in Ecuador decades ago. But Chevron had alleged wrongdoing on the part of the plaintiffs and Patton Boggs regarding a $9.5 billion judgment against Chevron in an Ecuador court in 2011. The firm recently settled its dispute with Chevron, paying the oil company $15 million.
Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. was born Sept. 18, 1940, in New Orleans and grew up in Bethesda, the son of Thomas Hale Boggs and the former Corinne Claiborne. After graduating in 1958 from Georgetown Preparatory School, he received an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1961.
In 1960, he wed Mary Barbara Denechaud. Besides his wife, of Chevy Chase, and sister, of Bethesda, survivors include three children, Thomas Hale Boggs III of Manhattan Beach, Calif., Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen of Chevy Chase and Douglas Boggs of Bethesda; and eight grandchildren.
While in law school at Georgetown, Tommy Boggs apprenticed on the staff of Congress’ Joint Economic Committee and learned the nuances of tax law. In 1966, a year after graduation, he turned down an offer at a marquee law firm, a decision he attributed to his mentor, the presidential confidant and Defense Secretary Clark M. Clifford.
He said Clifford advised him to go to a firm that would give him the most experience, and so he joined the staff of a four-member firm co-founded by James R. Patton Jr. He made $12,000-a-year.
“My father was disappointed,” Mr. Boggs told The Washington Post in 1983. “He had gone to a great deal of effort to make sure I was interviewed at all the Big Daddy firms in town. We never had much money, and the best he could give me was heritage and opportunity, and here I was not taking advantage of ‘opportunity.’ He said I was stupid.”
He plugged along for several years, taking time to mount an unsuccessful effort to unseat incumbent Rep. Gilbert Gude (R-Md.) in 1970. Three years later, the law firm became known as Patton, Boggs and Blow, the last for partner George Blow.