Matthew Larocco

Prior to his joining Arnold & Porter in May, 2006, Matthew LaRocco was General Manager at Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations (FHGR) where he brought to his clients an expansive knowledge and years of experience in both the public and private sectors, from the Clinton Administration to strategic campaign planning and execution. His fluency of the legislative process and his use of strong bipartisan relationships on Capitol Hill have made him an expert in lobbying, coalition building and public relations for the clients of Arnold & Porter LLP. Before joining Fleishman-Hillard Government Relations in 2001, Mr. LaRocco was President and co-founder of LaRocco & Associates, a lobbying firm focused on financial services. In this role, Mr. LaRocco, along with his father The Honorable Larry LaRocco, represented Metlife, the American Bankers Association, Brown & Co. and a host of other financial services clients. Mr. LaRocco served as a political appointee within the Clinton administration in the office of the Secretary of the Interior. As a special assistant to Secretary Bruce Babbitt, Mr. LaRocco gained an intimate perspective of the issues and policy matters facing the Department. In this capacity, Mr. LaRocco served under the Secretary, providing briefings for daily meetings and travel assignments. Mr. LaRocco was previously an account executive with an advertising and public relations firm based in Portland, Oregon. In this position, he managed advertising and public relations accounts from $100,000 to $1.5 million that provided television, radio, and print for campaigns in Oregon, California, and Nevada. In addition to managing accounts, he consulted on all aspects of the creative development and all other advertising and media strategic solutions for each client. Political campaigns are a natural for Mr. LaRocco, who cut his teeth on politics during his father's initial bid for the US House of Representatives in 1982. He later worked on The Honorable LaRocco's successful bids for Congress in 1990 and 1992 as a field and grassroots strategist. In 1994, he served as Latah County coordinator for Congressman LaRocco's re-election campaign and was chosen as field coordinator for all Democratic challengers in North Idaho for the campaign efforts in 1996. He later went on to become campaign manager for a successful statewide Supreme Court candidate in the Pacific Northwest where he devised strategies to increase candidate identification, fundraising and served as campaign spokesperson. Mr. LaRocco holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Portland, has studied at Pau University, France, and the University of Vienna, Austria, and is trained in mediation and negotiation.