Austin Business Journal - October 13, 2006

by Jonathan Selden
ABJ Staff

A new political consulting group of eight lawyers, political industry veterans -- and a member of a Texas senator's family -- hopes to make some waves in the industry by showing something it says most other lobbyists don't have: backbone.

The Patriot Group opened for business in Austin this month with a distinctive "business ideological bent" to fight for conservative causes, says Principal Anthony Holm.
"This is a group of purists," he says.

Specifically, purists of good old-fashioned conservative causes like free enterprise, liberty and limited government, says another firm principle, Jill Warren.

That means it's turning down clients who ask it to do differently.

"We passed on an incredibly prominent and incredibly lucrative client," he says. "They wanted us to stifle their competition."

It may seem like bad business for a startup, but Patriot sees it as good publicity.

Patriot, like most of its lobbying counterparts, will help corporations, issue-advocacy groups, political candidates, nonprofits, governments and individuals "with their toughest challenges in the fields of business, politics, litigation and government," the group says in a news release announcing its formation.

In addition to its philosophically inspired business plan, the group has another basis: "We're all about talent," Holm says.

Consequently, the group's made up of some heavy hitters in conservative Texas politics.

Its founder, Denis Calabrese, is the former chief of staff to retired U.S. House Majority Leader Dick Armey. Most recently, Calabrese worked as the chief strategist for Texans for Lawsuit Reform -- the movement that yielded Texas' medical malpractice lawsuit reform.

Other firm principals include Kevin Brannon, Ryan Gravatt and Matt Welch. Austin lawyer Marc Levin will serve as its general counsel.

Haley Cornyn -- daughter of Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas -- will serve as the group's executive assistant and operations manager.

The firm's founders say they will be well-financed and already have some of the state's -- and the country's -- largest political donors on their client list.

Bob Perry, owner of Perry Homes in Houston, and Dick Weekley, co-founder of Houston homebuilder David Weekley Homes LP and CEO of Texans for Lawsuit Reform, are both clients of Patriot Group personnel, Holm says.

From January 2005 to June 2006, Perry gave $4.6 million to Texas political action committees and candidates, according to a report issued by political spending watchdog Texans for Public Justice. He is best-known for his financing of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth organization that clipped the wings of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's campaign in 2004.

The 800-pound gorilla of Austin political consulting firms is Public Strategies Inc. Its spokesman, Bill Maddox, says only a small percentage of its business is in Austin, but it's a big market that can absorb yet another player.

"This industry is very dynamic in the Austin region, and we're certain that we'll be one of the leaders," Maddox says.

Patriot is building out its 5,600-square-foot office, taking up about half of the 11th floor at 919 Congress Ave. There, it will house five principals and Haley Cornyn, with plans to pick up one or two more principals.

Austin is where the firm will have the largest headcount, Holm says, but it is also expanding simultaneously into Houston and Dallas. Houston will have two principals and Dallas will have as many as four.

The group expects to open a "very, very large D.C. shop" in Washington -- as big as its Austin office -- soon, Haley Cornyn says.

It has plans to open another office in the Deep South -- perhaps in Jackson, Miss. -- in the near term.