Lobbying World: Feinstein’s chief of staff joins Cassidy & Associates

Taylor Giorno
·2 min read

James Sauls, who was most recently chief of staff to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), is one of five new hires by Cassidy & Associates.

Sauls and former Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze are joining the firm as senior vice presidents. Sauls was previously a professional staff member for the Senate Intelligence Committee, and he served as a naval intelligence officer for 11 years. Kornze was most recently chief of staff to Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and worked for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Hawley Stanton, a Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) alumnus who was most recently the senior director of government affairs at USTelecom – The Broadband Association, and Kelly Riddle, most recently deputy legislative director to Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), will join as vice presidents. Molly O’Scannell, who was most recently assistant to Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) chief of staff and a deputy scheduler, joins as a legislative assistant.

K&L Gates is adding Department of Justice lawyers Varu Chilakamarri and Michael Culhane Harper as partners.

Chilakamarri joins the firm’s Environment, Land, and Natural Resources practice after 17 years at the DOJ. She was most recently the deputy assistant attorney general for the Civil Division’s Torts Branch, and her resume includes stints as an appellate attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division and the chief of staff to the assistant attorney general.

Harper, who was most recently a trial attorney in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act unit of the department’s Criminal Fraud Section, joins K&L Gates’s White Collar Defense and Investigations practice.

Ray Quiñones is now director of government relations for the National Association of Broadcasters. He was a legislative assistant for Rep. Darren Soto (D-Fla.).

Drumfire Public Affairs added Maureen Vogel as a creative director and web developer. Vogel has worked with a range of organizations, including the National Guard Youth Foundation and the Washington Nationals.

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