Herseth Sandlin joins D.C. lobbying law firm

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Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said her decision to take a job with a lobbying law firm in the nation’s capital is a logical next step in her life and career.

Herseth Sandlin, a Democrat who was defeated in a bid for a fourth full U.S. House term from South Dakota last fall, has joined Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Bode Matz PC (OFW Law), in Washington, D.C. The firm said in a press release announcing Herseth Sandlin’s addition that it is “the leading law firm in agriculture and FDA regulated matters.”

Herseth Sandlin said she wants to continue to work in areas where she has experience and expertise and is also looking forward to opening a fresh chapter in her life and career.

“There’s life after 40 and there’s life after Congress,” she said in a telephone interview with The Daily Republic.

Herseth Sandlin said her political future hasn’t changed since she first spoke to the media in December: There is still less than a 50 percent chance she will run for her former House seat in 2012, she said.

“I’m not ruling anything out,” Herseth Sandlin said. “I loved serving South Dakota.”

The former congresswoman said she signed an “open-ended” contract with the law firm. Her first day of work was March 1, she said.

While she was excited to work for a firm she has had a close relationship with for several years, Herseth Sandlin said this doesn’t mean her political career is over. She said she has needed more balance in her professional and personal life and has made great strides to achieve that, with her marriage to former Texas congressman Max Sandlin and the birth of their son, Zachary, 2.

“And the political things will become clear when you have those ducks in a row,” she said.

In a company press release, she explained why she took the job: “This is an exciting opportunity to continue advocating for rural America. Investment in our agriculture and rural infrastructure is a key component to our country’s economic growth and national security, and I look forward to furthering my commitment to these issues as I assist clients on matters related to federal laws and regulations.”

“We could not be happier to have Stephanie join us,” firm co-founder Richard Frank said in the press release. “Her experience, dedication, knowledge and access will be extremely valuable to our clients.”

Herseth Sandlin will be a “principal” for the firm, according to the release. She will also work in the same city as husband Max Sandlin, another former congressman who joined a lobbying firm. Sandlin was a Texas congressman when he met Herseth Sandlin after she won a special election in 2004.

After three more electoral wins, she lost to Rep. Kristi Noem, R-S.D., on Nov. 2 and has been living in Brookings and spending time with her son Zachary while taking time off and traveling with her family. Herseth Sandlin, 40, told The Daily Republic in December she had numerous job offers and was waiting to decide what she would do.

Word leaked two weeks ago that she was considering taking this job, but she declined to confirm it. On Wednesday, the announcement was made.

Herseth Sandlin didn’t divulge how much she will be paid but said it will be more than the $174,000 she earned as a member of Congress. She and her husband have an apartment in Washington, but she plans to be “home in South Dakota” as often as she can.

She said OFW Law’s offer was the right choice for her and one she trusted in her “gut” from the minute it was made last year.

“Because it felt right from the start,” Herseth Sandlin said.

She earned graduate, undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown University, a prestigious private Jesuit school located in Washington, D.C. Herseth Sandlin said she feels her education, training and experience can make her “an asset to the firm.”

Herseth Sandlin said she is not legally allowed to meet with members of the House, Senate or their staffers until January, a one-year wait. Former senators must wait two years.

She said she will travel across the country in addition to doing work in the D.C. office. She also hopes to visit Africa, where she wants to work for “Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa,” a group seeking to provide more food for Africans.

It’s unclear how this will alter the hopes of South Dakota Democrats, who may want Herseth Sandlin to take another run at Noem in 2012.

Last month, South Dakota and national Republicans jumped on the news that she was considering this job and Noem, in a teleconference with South Dakota reporters earlier this year, admitted to following the story.

On Wednesday, Noem declined to comment.

The National Republican Congressional Committee released an e-mail criticizing Herseth Sandlin’s decision.

“Herseth Sandlin’s special interest lobbying job may make it official, but South Dakota voters concluded she had ‘gone Washington’ well before she was voted out of office,” said NRCC spokesman Tyler Q. Houston. “The question remains, will Herseth Sandlin set up her campaign headquarters on K Street?”

K Street is the location of several lobbying firms in Washington.

While Republicans were critical of Herseth Sandlin for contemplating a position with a law and lobbying firm, they can look at one of their own as someone who did the same thing: John Thune worked as an adviser for a D.C. firm, Arent Fox, and operated his own firm, The Thune Group, after losing a Senate race to Sen. Tim Johnson in 2002.

Thune and Johnson commented on Herseth Sandlin’s decision during press calls Wednesday morning.

Thune said he would not criticize Herseth Sandlin for following the same path he took, although he noted he maintained a home in South Dakota during the time he “associated” himself with the D.C. firm.

“She’s got to make her choice,” he said. “I don’t begrudge her that.”

He said her new job may impact her political career and twice said he was “attacked” for his work after he left Congress during his 2004 campaign against Tom Daschle.

“She’s entitled to her career choice,” Thune said. “We all deal with it in our own way.”

Johnson said he supports Herseth Sandlin’s decision.

“That’s her choice,” he said. “I wish her well.”

Johnson said he would never want to work as a lobbyist and then noted that lobbyists may get unfairly assailed, since it is a part of the political process. Still, he said in a typically wry twist, “there’s lobbyists and there’s lobbyists.”

Herseth Sandlin said she understands some people raise a skeptical eyebrow at the stream of former members of Congress who join lobbying firms. She said she respects “watchdog groups” who keep an eye on the trend but said some barbs aimed at her are a result of this “more partisan environment.”

Herseth Sandlin said she has a great interest and knowledge of the affairs of the day, and her new job is another way to have an impact. She said helping develop biotechnologies that can feed starving people is a worthy goal and one she will focus on with her new job.

“I think people develop areas of expertise that they are passionate about,” she said.

Former Sen. Tom Daschle, who unlike Herseth Sandlin is not a lawyer, also works for a D.C. firm as an adviser. And another former South Dakota Democratic senator, George McGovern, a Mitchell native, works for the same firm that Herseth Sandlin just joined.

“Stephanie Herseth Sandlin is a brilliant leader in the fight against hunger among the world’s most vulnerable populations,” McGovern said in the firm’s press release. “She carries on an important legacy in South Dakota agriculture to the next generation.”

Herseth Sandlin said McGovern’s role with the firm was a factor in her decision.

“George and I have become very close over the last number of years,” she said. “We all feel proud of his legacy.”

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