South Carolina Government Affairs Advisor Emily Heatwole Keeney has been appointed as Adams and Reese Government Relations Team Leader across the law firm’s national footprint. Ms. Keeney fills the role previously held by Birmingham Counsel Mark Gaines, who passed the torch after successfully serving in the team leadership position for several years.
The appointment was made by Brad Lampley and Lee Reid, Leaders of the Adams and Reese Intersection of Business and Government Practice Group.
The Government Relations Team is a subsection of the Adams and Reese IBG practice group and has more than 75 attorneys and advisors located across eight state capitals, including DC. The GR Team provides advocacy, lobbying, support, and legal counsel at the local, state, and federal levels to companies, trade associations, municipalities, city and county governments, parishes, universities, and nonprofits. Its members include former members of Congress, former state legislative leadership, former staffers, and a former U.S. Ambassador.
“We are delighted to appoint Emily to this position, where the entire firm can benefit from her exceptional leadership and professionalism. Emily quickly established herself as a rising star within our government relations team and was a very popular choice to fill the role,” said Lampley. “We are also deeply appreciative of Mark Gaines’s years of exceptional performance as team leader and are pleased that he will continue to serve as a very influential voice on our team going forward. He leaves some big shoes to fill, but we are excited to see the team continue to move forward under Emily’s leadership.”
Ms. Keeney has extensive experience in and around South Carolina state government, with particular experience in the legislative and state appropriations processes. She leverages her strong relationships throughout the executive and legislative branches on her clients’ behalf and has played a pivotal role in helping Adams and Reese become one of the leading governmental relations teams in the Palmetto State.
Before joining Adams and Reese, Ms. Keeney was the director of governmental affairs for the South Carolina Department of Education, where she served as the liaison between the agency and South Carolina’s General Assembly, Governor, Congressional Delegation, other state agencies, and stakeholder groups.
Ms. Keeney also spent seven years with the South Carolina House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee, serving as a budget analyst for the Health and Human Services Budget Subcommittee, the Public Education and Special Schools Budget Subcommittee, and the Sales and Income Tax and Property Tax Legislative Subcommittees. Her work included coordinating the passage of $2 billion in state appropriations through the budget process and coordinating communication between the General Assembly, the state’s school districts and the South Carolina Department of Education, as well as a variety of legislation affecting K-12 education, property tax, and sales and use tax.
In addition to her work in the political sphere, Ms. Keeney served as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Social Work, where she led instruction in policy development, persuasive arguments, and navigating the legislative process.