A career in law opens ambitious people to politics, making careers that may look like Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) whose career is bookended between practicing law. He practiced before he joined congress and has served there for 26 years, retiring from it last January. Now he is at Covington & Burling.

A plush set up can be expected from such a political figure, especially considering that Kyl was the second-highest ranking Republican in the Senate.

“The firm’s clients are an incredible mix of really important business entities representing a wide spectrum,” Kyl said in an interview. “I’ve had enough experience in the Senate and House to know how to help them out.”

It seems he does not regard his new arrangement as too small-fry after his political adventures. Covington is a huge D.C. law firm that has been increasing its lobbying, with such clients as the National Football League, BP Plc, Amazon.com, and others. Senators aren’t allow to formally lobby congress for two years after retiring, but Kyl is cheerful that there is “a huge amount of work that can be done,” till then.



“[Clients] need advice and counsel from someone who knows how government works in Washington,” said Kyl. “That’s the kind of advice I can give without getting into lobbying. I can provide my insights into the people and process on Capitol Hill for them to take advantage of in the lobbying I do.”

Men and women like Kyl who have some political clout can return to law in the same way some heavy-hitting lawyers return to the university to teach. They are a big fish returning to a small pond, and are sure to dominate in what they do.