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SACRAMENTO, CA,  August 24, 2017 – Nielsen Merksamer – one of the preeminent political law, government law and lobbying firms in the country – today announced that Sacramento Magazine honored John J. Moffatt, Kurt Oneto and Benjamin Palmer as “2017 Top Lawyers” for Legislative & Governmental Affairs.

As noted by Sacramento Magazine, the publication works each year with the Professional Research Service to determine the top attorneys in the Sacramento region.  According to the publication, attorneys are nominated and voted upon by their peers and are evaluated based on the survey results, the legitimacy of their license and their current standing with the State Bar of California.  Attorneys who receive the highest number of votes in each specialty receive this honor.

John J. Moffatt is a partner in the firm’s government law section.  Prior to joining Nielsen Merksamer, Mr. Moffatt served as a member of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Senior Staff as Chief Deputy Legislative Secretary and Deputy Legislative Secretary.  In addition to lobbying the California Legislature, Mr. Moffatt’s current practice includes representing clients on regulatory issues at the California Environmental Protection Agency, the California Natural Resources Agency, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, the California Public Utilities Commission and the California Department of Industrial Relations.

Kurt Oneto is a partner practicing a wide range of government and election law-related matters including initiatives and referenda, legislative and budget procedure, ballot measure and statutory drafting/interpretation, state constitutional matters, procurement and licensing, local government, and state and local taxation. Kurt is a member of both the firm’s government law and litigation practice groups.  Prior to joining Nielsen Merksamer, Kurt served as a legislative analyst with the California District Attorneys Association and as a legislative aide to a member of the California State Senate.  Additionally, Kurt interned for a member of the United States House of Representatives.

Benjamin Palmer is an attorney in the firm’s Government Law section specializing in legislative advocacy, issues relating to the administration of justice, regulation of business activities as well as privacy and electronic communications.  Prior to joining Nielsen Merksamer, Mr. Palmer served as chief counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee where he worked for ten years. Mr. Palmer worked on over a thousand bills as well as high profile issues ranging from foreclosure and tort liability to privacy and data breach.  He worked extensively with the Judicial Council of California to address issues relating to access to justice, court efficiencies and funding for the Judicial branch.  Before working for the Senate, Mr. Palmer served as an extern to federal Judge Kimberly Mueller and as a law clerk in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office.

For further information, please contact (916) 446-6752.

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