2021 GOLDEN ROTUNDA AWARDS
Matt Blair LOCAL
LOBBYIST OF THE
YEAR
I
t was late in the 2020 Legislative Session when everyone’s fears became reality — COVID-19 showed up in Tallahassee and, at least briefly, interrupted the waning days of the 60-day Session. Things quickly went from normal to the now-dreaded adjective: unprecedented. Face-to-face meetings became rare. In-person negotiations on future legislative priorities turned to Zoom meetings and conference calls. Homes became offices and cars became conference rooms. But that did little to deter Matt Blair, a partner with the powerhouse firm Corcoran Partners. “While the pandemic reached all families across the state, our firm continued to deliver for our clients,” Blair said. “Through remote conference calls, we were able to link our clients with state leaders in the legislative and executive branch, keeping them in touch with evolving policies on education, the economy, emergency rules and more during that extremely challenging period.” Blair managed client relations as business as usual during a period of time that was anything but, however it’s his overall scope or work for which he’s most proud. Blair — along with his team at Corcoran Partners and bill sponsor Jackie Toledo — worked to get robust human trafficking legislation passed this year to “send a message that Florida will not tolerate human trafficking and that victims are not treated like criminals,” as Toledo described HB 523. The bill, which passed through its
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INFLUENCE Fall 2021