Lobbyists and Their Obligation to the Public Interest

Lobbying in the United States is protected by the First Amendment's petitioning clause, so the profession cannot be suppressed, merely regulated. Since efforts to enact new regulations on the lobbying profession have largely stalled, there is a growing interest in having lobbyists regulate themselves with a canon of ethics provided by their professional associations. Many professions self-regulate, and many articulate obligations to serve the public interest. But what would it mean for lobbyists to serve the public interest? What could their ethical public service obligation be? In this article, I argue that because lobbying is protected by the Constitution, lobbyists have a reciprocal duty to serve the public interest. This creates a duality in how they view their job, as an advocate and as a guide. Following the ideas of Cassinelli, which are based on those of Rousseau, I argue that lobbyists can serve the public by engaging the people they represent, their interest group members or corporate clients, in deliberations that help them articulate their own interests and help them understand and appreciate the concerns and fears of other interests against whom they are competing to shape policy. While always vigorously lobbying for their members or clients, lobbyists also strengthen democracy and thus serve the public interest by helping those they represent empathize with others and perhaps find some common ground.