G. Hunter Bates

Practice Areas

Hunter Bates is a co-leader of Akin's top-rated lobbying & public policy practice, representing clients across myriad issues, including tax, health, transportation, technology and sports law. He combines his knowledge of policy, process and key players to provide strategic advice to, and advocacy on behalf of, a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, trade associations and nonprofit organizations. Hunter served as legal counsel and then chief of staff for the current U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and has been consistently ranked as a “Top Lobbyist” by The Hill newspaper. He earned his law degree from Harvard University and clerked on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit for the Honorable Eugene E. Siler, Jr. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the Institute for Free Speech.