Blake S. Rutherford, a member of Cozen O’Connor’s Government and Regulatory Practice, has a substantive understanding of the relationship between business and government, having spent his professional career navigating issues at the intersection of law, policy, politics, and communications.
Blake advises corporate clients on federal legislative and regulatory issues in the political law, healthcare, transportation, technology & privacy, higher education, and finance sectors, and his experience includes navigating policy engagements before the executive and legislative branches of both federal and state-level government.
He currently serves as the administrative partner to Cozen O’Connor’s Political Action Committee and moderates Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies’ podcast, The Beltway Briefing, which provides analysis and insight on political and policy developments in Washington, D.C. As a regular guest on Fox News and Fox Business Channel, Blake provides political analysis of major news events of the day.
As a chief strategist and advisor to elected officials, C-suite executives, and industry influencers, he provides practical and strategic advice that assists clients in achieving their business and professional development goals, whether that is in a political, policy, philanthropic, communications, or thought leadership context.
Before joining Cozen O’Connor, Blake served as chief of staff to the attorneys general of Arkansas and Pennsylvania, where he maintained broad responsibilities in managing the office’s engagement across myriad business and legal sectors. In 2016, he was named special advisor to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, a position to which he was appointed by then-Attorney General Bruce Beemer.
In that capacity, he provided strategic counsel to the Attorney General and the Executive Office on political, policy and communications matters. Previously, Blake served as general counsel to the Democratic Party of Arkansas and was a member of the legal team that advised the Wesley Clark for President campaign.
Prior to becoming chief of staff to the Pennsylvania Attorney General, Blake was vice president of McLarty Companies, a fourth-generation family office led by former Clinton White House chief of staff Thomas F. “Mack” McLarty. There, he provided strategic counsel, executive management, communications strategy, and legal guidance, while working across the transportation, finance, and commercial real estate sectors.
Before he was named chief of staff to the Arkansas Attorney General, Blake was director of public communications and general counsel at Stone Ward, one of Arkansas’s largest full-service advertising, public relations, and digital consulting firms. There he directed the agency’s public relations division and advised clients on communications strategy and media relations.
After attending law school, Blake practiced at Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP where he focused on business, corporate, real estate, public interest, and political law matters. A few of his notable representations included the Grand Opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative.
Prior to joining Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, Blake worked on the Clinton-Gore ’96 presidential campaign, the 53rd Presidential Inaugural Committee, and the Gore 2000 presidential campaign.
Blake has served as an adjunct professor of law at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the UA Little Rock as well as an adjunct professor in the Graduate School of Media and Communications at Temple University. A former political columnist, radio show host, and political blogger, Blake’s blog, “Blake’s Think Tank,” was the only Arkansas political blog recognized in The Washington Post’s influential Political Blog Network.
Admitted to practice only in Arkansas and Pennsylvania; practicing under the supervision of members of Cozen O’Connor P.C.
EDUCATION :
- University of Arkansas School of Law, J.D., 2003
- Middlebury College, B.S., 2000
BAR ADMISSIONS :
- Pennsylvania
- Arkansas
Cost
Rate : $$$