Lobbying World

By The Hill Staff - 02/28/12 08:57 PM ET

• Former Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) has joined MSL Washington, DC as senior adviser of its public affairs team. Hulshof was in Congress for 12 years and at one point served on the House Ways and Means Committee. Before that, he served as a special prosecutor in the Office of the Missouri Attorney General.

• Jim Barnette has rejoined Steptoe & Johnson as a partner in the firm’s government affairs and public policy group. Barnette comes from Capitol Hill, where he served for the second time as general counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Barnette has worked under four Energy and Commerce chairmen, most recently Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) as principal adviser on healthcare and other issues. Before that, he worked at Steptoe as a partner.

• Sheldon Steinbach has joined DLA Piper as of counsel for the firm’s corporate and securities team. Steinbach comes from Dow Lohnes, where he was the higher education practice’s senior counsel. Before that, he worked for the American Council on Education, where he held the position of vice president and general counsel for nearly 40 years.

• Robert Gelbard is joining SNR Denton to serve as senior adviser in the firm’s public policy and regulation practice. Gelbard previously served in the United States Foreign Service in several senior positions, including ambassador. He has been the president’s special representative for the Balkans, ambassador to Indonesia and Bolivia, assistant secretary of State for international narcotics and law enforcement and principal deputy assistant secretary for inter-American affairs.

• Michael Wilson will change positions at NextEra Energy in April, becoming special counsel on policy and legislative issues to the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. Wilson currently works as vice president of federal governmental affairs. Before that, he worked in Florida’s Office of Public Counsel as deputy public counsel and as Florida Public Service commissioner and chairman.