Perkins Coie and its Political Law Group Announce the Formation of the Independent Firm Elias Law Group LLP

New firm will include lawyers from the Political Law Group; Perkins Coie will retain partners focused on counseling corporate clients on political activities

SEATTLE (August 22, 2021)—Perkins Coie and its Political Law Group announced today that 11 partners and 3 counsel will separate from the firm to form the independent firm Elias Law Group LLP. The new firm will represent candidates, party committees, political committees, nonprofit organizations, entities, and voters. Elias Law Group will be mission-driven, focusing on electing Democrats, supporting voting rights, and helping progressives make change.

Marc Elias, chair of the Political Law Group, will lead Elias Law Group. The separation will provide Elias Law Group with the independence to broaden its advocacy and types of matters on which it works, including by engaging more directly in the political and electoral process.

"Perkins Coie has been a pioneer in modern political law. Since the founding of the practice 40 years ago, it has grown and evolved to become the leading political law practice in the country," said Bill Malley, Perkins Coie's firmwide managing partner. "Both the firm and the group's leaders agree that the logical next step in the group's evolution is to form an independent firm that can build on the work for which it has become so well-known."

"The formation of Elias Law Group will allow us to more fully engage in representing our clients in the political process at this unique moment in history," said Marc Elias. "I look forward to continuing to work with Perkins Coie and want to thank the firm and its leadership for understanding and supporting us for the past decades and in this next step in our evolution."

Perkins Coie will retain its corporate political activities practice and continue providing legal advice and compliance services to businesses, nonprofits, and individuals to help them navigate the full range of laws regulating their interactions with the government and government officials, including campaign finance, lobbying disclosure and ethics. The firm's corporate political law counseling work will be led by 20-year Perkins Coie veteran Rebecca Gordon. Partner Brian Svoboda, who has been with the firm for 24 years and is an expert on ethics and campaign finance law, will also remain with the practice. Partner Bruce Spiva, an experienced trial and appellate attorney and managing partner of our Washington, D.C., office, will continue to focus on elections and commercial litigation matters.

Perkins Coie and Elias Law Group intend to work together on key matters—including litigation aimed at protecting the right to vote for all Americans.

Elias Law Group is a new law firm headquartered in Washington, D.C., with an office in Seattle, WA, focused on helping Democrats win, citizens vote, and progressives make change. Central to the firm's mission will be its own diversity and inclusion. The initial partners of the Elias Law Group will be Jon Berkon, Aria Branch, Hannah Eaves, Marc Elias, Elisabeth Frost, Tyler Hagenbuch, Rachel Jacobs, Abha Khanna, Kate Sawyer Keane, Katherine LaBeau, Jackie Lopez, Uzoma Nkwonta, Ezra Reese, Ben Stafford, and Graham Wilson.