The Rutland Group

The Rutland Group is a full-service government relations consulting firm dedicated to successfully navigating clients through their political, legislative, regulatory, legal and media obstacles.

Founded by William Rutland in 1997, the Group has the relevant experience and expertise to achieve winning, measurable results.

The Rutland Group’s team of elite consultants, all with accomplished backgrounds at every level of local, state and federal government, as well as the private sector, are dedicated to helping clients achieve their goals quickly and efficiently. The team is dedicated to providing the best results in crisis management, government relations, and corporate consulting.

Laws, regulations, project decisions – all are rooted in the contexts of policy and politics. That’s why The Rutland Group conducts independent research and analysis into each client’s unique concerns and issues. We review relevant statutes and regulations, identify key policy makers and regulators, and assess current political and business trends to provide each client with a successful and fully researched strategy.

Based on careful background research, we develop a strategy to move our clients to success. We re-evaluate these strategies on an on-going basis, update our clients, and fine-tune the strategy with client input.

Our goal is straightforward and unchanging: to position our clients as responsible corporation citizens who can engage successfully with policy makers and regulators.


The Rutland Group’s hallmark as a professional advocacy firm is our ability to present the solution to a client’s problem as sound public policy. While term limits may have changed the landscape of the Legislature, the responsibility of policy makers has not altered. Inexperienced legislators with thin subject area expertise are nonetheless committed to fashioning good public policies, and they are highly receptive to advocates who aim to assist them. The Rutland Group’s approach to representation rooted in a well-developed and fully researched strategy is a winning formula for success in this environment.

We implement strategies designed to reflect favorably upon our clients’ concerns. We frequently involve our clients directly in the process of informing and persuading policy makers and regulators either through private meetings or the offering of expert testimony. When appropriate, the Rutland Group will also assist in building coalitions for more powerful advocacy on a client’s behalf.

Partisan political affiliation is neither a concern nor an obstacle with The Rutland Group. Our principals have worked for and with Democrats, Republicans and independents and we count many friends on both sides of the aisle. Our focus is to fashion for our clients the kind of sound public policy that appeals to all lawmakers and regulators.


On occasion, a client may face imminent peril either because of the actions of others or because of their own mistakes. The Rutland Group is experienced in crisis management and problem solving. We promptly assess the issues involved and their implications for the client, government, and the public. We immediately implement a damage control strategy, then develop a comprehensive plan to resolve the problem. The elements of this plan may include public relations advocacy and media-relations services. In all cases, we work closely with the client and the client’s staff to clarify the client’s position and to correct media inaccuracies. When possible, we identify likely friends and allies and solicit their involvement. We work closely with the client to establish open communications with relevant government agencies and constituencies. When a client is struggling with bad press, angry constituent groups, and the possibility of punitive sanctions, we offer a fresh approach that cuts through the nonessentials to position the client in a favorable light and lay the groundwork for a successful resolution of the problem.

Government represents a huge potential market for many of our clients’ products and services, but, while doing business with government can be rewarding, it can also be a major headache. Deciphering procurement rules and learning the formal and informal structure of government agencies can be both time consuming and frustrating. The Rutland Group can navigate these troubled waters for clients interested in doing business with public agencies. We assist clients in establishing relationships with potential government customers, develop and implement strategies that position clients for favorable consideration by decision makers, and, through our experience with procurement rules, eligibility requirements, and other regulatory mandates, we provide our clients with road maps to the frequently unstated goals and interests of the target government customers.

Many businesses find themselves blind-sided by new laws and regulations that can have an unanticipated impact on their operations. The Rutland Group offers a Bill Screening and Regulatory Monitoring Service that can serve as the eyes and ears of its clients. The key to screening and monitoring legislation and regulatory actions is a firm understanding of the nature of a client’s business and the likely effect of proposed changes. We work closely with clients to develop a detailed profile of interests and concerns. From that profile, we build a customized monitoring program that alerts clients to proposals that will impact their interests. Our expertise in translating the dense language of statutes and regulations into likely impacts on our clients’ operations makes this one of our most valuable services, allowing us to save our clients time and money.

While key relationships and an understanding of legislative and regulatory processes are acknowledged essentials in professional advocacy, a grasp of the intricacies of public policies and their implications is especially critical in this era of term limits. The Rutland Group works closely with a variety of policy experts from the public and private sectors to ensure a full understanding of the policies that impinge upon our clients’ businesses, issues, and concerns. We work closely with such groups as the Policy Advisory Council and other business and public interest policy networks. It is our commitment to the thorough exploration of policies and their implications that often allows us to identify likely allies, opportunities for new approaches, and better positioning for our clients.

As The Rutland Group works with clients to establish successful outcomes with government, we often discover opportunities to build alliances between our clients and other businesses in California, in the nation, and even internationally.

Sometimes, these alliances come about as the result of businesses working together on an issue of common concern. On other occasions, The Rutland Group spots opportunities for its clients that are not easily seen by the operating divisions of potential allies and partners. Through years of serving Fortune 500 companies, we have often identified opportunities for relationships that have provided our clients with new opportunities for growth. Our experience and our expertise in seeing opportunities where others do not makes it possible for us to offer this unique service to our clients.