by Thomas Hale Boggs Jr.

About the author: Thomas Hale Boggs Jr. is a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington, D.C.

Shakespeare’s “kill all the lawyers” has been replaced with “kill all the lobbyists.” Journalists at most major publications have joined the chorus. In an editorial, for example, [the New York Times] described the “threat that corporate influence and big-time lobbying represent to enlightened populism.”

Iagree that the system needs to be changed. Campaign finance reform, stricter lobbying disclosure rules and post-employment restrictions for Government officials and employees would serve the democracy well. But few commentators ever stop to consider the legitimate role lobbyists play in policy-making.

Critics charge that the use of lobbyists by special interests is unfair, that if members of Congress respond to the influence...