Husch Blackwell Strategies (HBS) announced today the firm is opening its tenth state office with a presence in Arkansas. Dustin Brighton, a leading advocate in the state, joins the firm as a Managing Principal and will lead the office. HBS now has twelve offices nationwide – in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, a federal practice group that ranks as one of Washington’s top performing lobbying firms, and the HBS Public Affairs group based in St. Louis.
Dusty is an experienced government affairs advocate with nearly thirty years of protecting and broadening the interests of his clients before the Arkansas General Assembly and state attorneys general nationwide. He is a widely recognized expert in consumer privacy and anti-trust issues representing e-commerce and tech brand names like eBay and Microsoft.
HBS CEO Andy Blunt said, “Today is a momentous day for HBS as we open our tenth state office and continue building our nationwide presence with the best of the best in all our state capitals, St. Louis and DC. Dusty is an honest broker of information and wildly successful in helping clients overcome public policy obstacles to drive growth. He will be a real asset to our team and our clients.”
Dusty’s track record of advancing critical policy issues in his clients’ favor is hard to match and includes diligently guiding clients out of multiple state attorneys general investigations.
Dusty has established a network of trusted relationships and credibility with elected leaders and influencers in Arkansas and across the nation on issues such as privacy, net neutrality, and Section 230 liability protections. He has successfully represented companies as members of industry trade associations and groups such as the National Association of Attorneys General, National Governors Association, and the Democratic and Republican Legislative Campaign Committees. He most recently served as Managing Director of Brightstone Bridge, an Arkansas-based government relations firm he founded in 2018.
HBS Executive Vice President, State Government Affairs, Rochelle Mallett added, “Dusty doesn’t stop until the job is done. He succeeds by planting relational seeds that yield victories over time. That authentic leadership sets him apart from others and affirms our commitment to best-in-class client service.”
ABOUT HBS
Husch Blackwell Strategies was established in 2018 with the merger of three government affairs practices of Husch Blackwell LLP, Statehouse Strategies LLC, and Cloakroom Advisors LLC, to form a multi-jurisdiction state and federal legislative government affairs firm. HBS Chief Executive Officer Andy Blunt and HBS Chief Operating Officer Gregg Hartley are co-founders of the firm. HBS moves the needle of public opinion and guides decisions of public officials through its integrated services of state and federal lobbying, executive-level strategic counsel, and public affairs. With one of the largest networks of state lobbyists in the country, HBS has twelve offices nationwide – in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Wisconsin, a federal practice group that ranks as one of Washington’s top performing lobbying firms, and the HBS Public Affairs group based in St. Louis. U.S. Senator Roy Blunt chairs the firm’s Leadership Strategies Advisory Services group in Washington – a specialized executive team that provides a comprehensive whole-of-government advisory service that is tailored to the needs of a specific organization.
