Kudos to the Independent Weekly for dissecting the octopus that is K & L Gates, the most powerful law firm “the Triangle has never heard of [and] one of the region’s most formidable and pervasive forces in development and politics.” Operatives with this global firm are behind dozens of projects in the Durham area and the Indie’s careful examination of their maneuverings is worthy of a national journalism prize and wide exposure.
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Thanks for providing this information. When a group like that has so much influence over policies in Durham, it’s difficult for unorganized neighborhood groups or citizen groups to combat that.
We have the same problem in Charlotte but it’s not just one law firm but an association of developers. There is another group that I consider insidious in Charlotte for their influence and it is essentially a tax payer funded lobbyist group called the Center City Partners. State government in Raleigh authorized a special tax district for downtown Charlotte that funds this organization. This group has a lot of power and influence on city council and advocates funding the dowtown interests over the rest of the city. I don’t think it’s fair to the citizens for this type of taxpayer funded lobbying.