Patrick Shannon is the Co-Leader of the California Government Law & Policy Group in the firm’s Sacramento office. Patrick focuses his practice on government relations and administrative law before the California legislature and state regulatory and enforcement agencies. He has deep experience on matters relating to financial services, health care, transportation, insurance, environmental regulation, tax, and government contracts.
He has served as outside government relations legal counsel and a top policy strategist in California, principally at the state but also local level, for more than two decades for several of the world’s largest financial institutions, health care companies, and transportation conglomerates.
Patrick has practiced government relations law and otherwise worked in government relations since 1992. He previously headed the firm’s Silicon Valley government practice before founding Government Relations Counsel in 2008. During his prior tenure in state government, he served as Gov. Pete Wilson's legislative advisor and liaison on business issues and on all civil and criminal justice matters, overseeing six cabinet-level agency legislative programs. In addition to his senior policy advisory work, Patrick has held executive positions in two technology companies, founded his own corporate affairs consulting firm, and practiced securities law at an international law firm.
Experience
Representative Matters
• Helped broker a California state budget deal to break the stalemate over tax increases to close a $26-billion deficit with carrots of corporate tax reform to change to a single sales factor regime and to authorize public-private partnerships for transportation infrastructure projects.°
• Worked to persuade the California Health Benefits Exchange Commission to contract out the IT build of the California health care exchange under the Affordable Care Act, helped develop the requirements, helped assemble a consortium of service providers to bid on the project, and navigated the process to secure the $350 million government contract.°
• Partnering with an international accounting firm, implemented a government relations, public affairs, and legal strategy on behalf of a major client to appeal an income assessment by the Franchise Tax Board yielding a ruling from the state Board of Equalization to grant one of the most a significant refunds on record.°
• Devised a legal and political strategy on behalf of a coalition of major in-state mutual fund companies to convince the Franchise Tax Board to adopt a special industry regulation to change the method of sourcing receipts to be based on where the customer is located in a two-year effort to remove the financial disincentive for locating mutual fund complexes in California.°
• Helped derail the original proposal for a multibillion-dollar annual sales tax on services by helping organize a broad coalition of major industry players to oppose and galvanized a public relations campaign against it, including coordinating an economic analysis by a consulting firm of the negative impact on in-state jobs and company out-migration.°
• Spearheaded a legislative campaign for California to conform state tax laws to federal treatment of mutual fund companies in part by commissioning a fiscal analysis by the former California Finance Director, who concluded the plan was revenue-neutral.°
• On behalf of a financial services firm, managed a public relations and legislative effort to transition San Francisco’s tax system away from a payroll tax and to a gross receipts tax.°
• At the 11th hour, beat back a proposal by a telecommunications giant submitted to the City of Hillsborough to install massive cell towers near homes in residential areas by organizing a full-scale public relations, media relations, community outreach, lobbying, scientific, and federal, state, and local legal opposition campaign in a very compressed time frame.°
• Managed a three-state campaign in California, Arizona, and Oregon to defeat legislation and regulations to enact competitive disadvantages to the business model of technology-enabled referral agencies for senior housing.°
°The above representations were handled by Mr. Shannon prior to his joining Greenberg Traurig, LLP.
Government Experience
• Bay Area Policy Director, Office of Governor Pete Wilson, San Francisco, 1995
• Deputy Legislative Secretary, Office of the Governor, Sacramento, 1992-1994
Previous Experience
• Founder, Government Relations Counsel, 2008-2020
• Vice President of Client Services, Quovera, 2000-2001
• Sierra Performance Coatings, 1998–2000
o President, 1999–2000
o Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel, 1998-1999
• President, Shannon Corporate Strategies, 1997
Recognition & Leadership
Professional & Community Involvement
• Member, California Bar Association
• Former Board Member, Lincoln Club of Northern California
• Former Board Member, Lead 21 (Young Executives PAC)
• Former Board Member and Development Chair, Silicon Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross
