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The third house

When I was the director of the office of governmental affairs for the
Judicial Council, I had the responsibility and privilege of interviewing a
large number of very qualified candidates for positions as legislative
advocates in our office.

Among the many things that we asked applicants to do was to identify the
qualities that a lobbyist must have to be effective. Not surprisingly,
nearly all applicants gave some mix of the following answers:

  • subject-matter expertise
  • knowledge of the “players”
  • knowledge of legislative processes, procedures, rules and calendars
  • people skills
  • good judgment
  • political savvy
  • good communication skills

    The items on this list are commonly identified, almost to the point of
    clich

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