New media official is drawn back to practice
From CEO to lawyer: Businessman expected to add political insight to law firm.
By Rachel Tobin Ramos
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, January 09, 2009
Apparently, being the head of a multimedia news and polling company striving to go international isn’t enough to satisfy Atlanta businessman Matt Towery.
The lawyer-by-training and CEO of InsiderAdvantage/Poll Position is rejoining Atlanta-based law firm McKenna Long & Aldridge as “of counsel,” meaning he will practice with the firm but won’t be a partner.
“The one missing ingredient,” Towery said, “is that I’m a lawyer. I enjoyed working on projects on a national basis. Why not give a try and go back to this again?”
The last time Towery, 49, practiced law, from 1994 to 1998, also was with McKenna. That was also when he was a Republican legislator at the state Capitol. After leaving, he said, he’s largely avoided practicing law because he didn’t have malpractice insurance. His law license is active with the Georgia Bar Association.
Towery, a Cambridge University (in England) undergrad, earned a law degree from Stetson University in Florida.
More recently, he’s made a name for himself as book author, political analyst and the head of a polling company he leads with former CNN executive Eason Jordan.
The company had a big break in 2008, acting as the official pollster for Politico, a Washington-based Web site focused on national politics, during the presidential election. His company also produces several political news Web sites.
Towery’s GOP credentials run deep: he’s been a strategist for Georgia Republicans such as former U.S. Sen. Mack Mattingly and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
Jeff Haidet, McKenna’s chairman, admitted it may seem odd to hire a Republican just as Democrats gain control of the White House and have a bigger majority in Congress. But Senate Democrats still need to work with Republicans to get bills passed, Haidet said.
“I was meeting with a client yesterday,” he said on a phone interview from Washington. “Their view was that they couldn’t get [legislation] through without Republican support in the Senate for it. Those relationships are still very important to work getting done up here in Washington.”
Towery will practice with the government affairs group, led by Eric Tanenblatt, the one-time chief of staff to Georgia’s Republican governor, Sonny Perdue.
Tanenblatt said Towery also brings knowledge that McKenna’s clients may want around political strategy, grassroots organization and using new media.
“Matt brings a sense for how the media is an important tool on impacting public policy,” Tanenblatt said. And the relationship with Towery could bring new clients to both McKenna and Towery’s firm.
“We have arrangements with other professionals who work for us part time and have consulting business on the side,” Haidet said. “It works.”
Said Towery: “There are so many things they are doing that cross pollinate with what we do in terms of research and information gathering. It’s not taking more of my time away here but augmenting it. Rainmaking? I suppose it runs both ways.”
Source: AJC