11-15 years

1st Vice President, Maryland Government Relations Association

Former General Counsel, Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation

Former General Counsel, Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce

Pounds is an accomplished attorney and lobbyist with sixteen years of legal experience and served as General Counsel for government, quasi-government entities, boards & commissions, and businesses. After seven years in Prince George's as a senior campaign and transition staff member, an associate county attorney, and then General Counsel to the Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation, Pounds served six years as a partner and senior counsel in two prominent Maryland law firms. He represents clients in municipal and cannabis law, alcoholic beverage licensing; land use and zoning; business transactions, and government relations. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech, and received his Juris Doctor, with honors, at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Pounds is active in his community and serves on several boards, including the Greater Bowie Chamber of Commerce and the Maryland Government Relations Association. He lives in Bowie with his wife and two children.

11-15 years

In addition to the items mentioned in the bio, the years spent in the Kansas Legislature formed friendships and professional relationships with legislators of both parties, their leaders, Governors of both parties, and our Congressional delegation. Those relationships continue. In addition, the years spent at the Kansas Chamber formed lasting relationships with the legislators endorsed and supported as pro-business advocates. Being a past Speaker of the House has benefited me with developing relationships with newly elected legislators I didn't serve with. The heads of several of our state agencies and departments are former legislative colleagues of mine and friends.

Legal Background
*JD, University of Kansas School of Law - 1976
*2-Yr. internship with the Office of Legislative Counsel
*Partner, Reynolds, Peirce, Forker, Suter & O'Neal, Hutchinson, KS - 1979-1984
*Hutchinson Community College Instructor - 1976-1984
*Shareholder, Gilliland & Hayes, P.A., Hutchinson, KS - 1984-2012
*Of Counsel, Gilliland & Hayes, LLC - 2012-2016
*Extensive trial experience in areas of insurance defense and professional liability; handled 100's of workers compensation cases for employers
*Recently completed successful settlement against the State which restored over $3M in fees swept from fee funds by the Legislature and Adminstration
*Currently provide legal services to clients with issues before the Legislature, licensing agencies, regulatory agencies and Boards
*40 Hours of certified mediation training
*Served on the Board of Governors of the KU Law Society
*As attorney/legislator, appeared in Fed. Court both in 2002 and 2012 to defend legislative redistricting maps


Legislative Background
*Elected to Kansas House of Representatives - 1984 - Hutchinson/Reno County
*Served in Kansas House of Representatives - 1985 - 2012
*Served 2 years as V.C. of House Judiciary Committee
*Served 2 years as Ranking Republican of House Judiciary Committee
*Served 16 years as Chairman of the House of Judiciary Committee
*Served 2 years as Chairman of the House Education Committee
*Served as V.C. of the Select Committee on School Finance
*Served 2 years each as Chairman of the House Redistricting Committee during the 2002 and 2012 Legislative and Congressional redistricting
*Served twice as Chairman of House Committee on Contested Elections
*Served twice as Chairman of House Select Investigative Committee
*Other committee assignments included Public Heath, Commerce & Industry, Education Budget and Legislative Budget
*Elected as Minority Whip when Republicans were in the minority and the Majority Whip
*Elected as Speaker of the Kansas House of Representatives - 2009-2012
*Served in alternating years with the Senate President as Chairman of the Legislative Coordinating Council and was a member of the State Finance Council
*Executive Committee member, National Speakers' Conference
*Executive Committee member, Council of State Governments
*Kansas Judicial Council member for 16 years
*Commissioner, Uniform Law Commission for 16 years
*Past Member, Kansas Commission on Judicial Performance
*Past Member, Kansas Sentencing Commission
*Past Board member, KTEC
*Past Member Commission on School Efficiency
*Past member Kansas Travel & Tourism Commission


Governmental Relations and Association Management Background
*Hired as President & CEO of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce and Industry - 2012-2016
*Development and execution of annual Kansas Chamber Legislative Agenda
*Extensive lobbying of Legislative members and Administration
*Legal, legislative, and political analysis, member engagement research, public appearances and media interviews
*Upon retirement from the Kansas Chamber, formed O'Neal Consulting LLC in Dec. 2016 to represent individual clients with legislative and legal issues related to the Legislature and State government

20+ years

Jay F. Malcynsky, Esq., is the co-founder and managing partner of Gaffney, Bennett and Associates, Inc. Jay is also a practicing attorney licensed in Connecticut and Washington, D.C., and is the founder and managing partner of The Law Offices of Jay F. Malcynsky, P.C. In these capacities, Jay has distinguished himself as one of the most knowledgeable, highly respected, and capable professionals in the fields of government relations and political consulting, as well as administrative law. At the state Capitol, clients and legislators frequently call upon Jay's skills in negotiating agreements, forging alliances, and coordinating crisis management. Under his leadership, Gaffney, Bennett and Associates has mounted a record of success unsurpassed in Connecticut.

Jay has been an active and longtime political strategist. Prior to establishing the firm, Jay managed U.S. Congressman Stewart B. McKinney's political campaigns in 1980 and 1982. He also managed the re-election bids of U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Johnson and U.S. Senator Lowell P. Weicker, in 1984 and 1988, respectively. In 2000, Jay served as campaign manager for Bush for President in Connecticut, and was among the lead attorneys representing the Bush campaign during the Florida recount effort.

He is currently vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, and serves on the Boards of Directors of The UConn Foundation, the Nutmeg State Games, and Connecticut Legal Services.

After graduating from law school, Jay served as a trial attorney in the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C. He also served as an attorney for the U.S. House of Representatives.

Jeffrey A. Zyjeski, Esq. ("Zeke") began working for Gaffney, Bennett & Associates in 1998 after completing an internship and working at the state Capitol as a staffer for the Legislature's Judiciary Committee. Jeff worked part-time at Gaffney, Bennett & Associates while in law school and joined the firm and the Law Offices of Jay F. Malcynsky, P.C. in 2002.

Jeff is also licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and before the United States Supreme Court

Jeff graduated cum laude with a B.A. from the University of Connecticut, and received his J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law. Jeff uses his legal and legislative experience to assist clients in matters of law, regulation and transportation. He currently serves as a member of the House of Delegates of the Connecticut Bar Association, and previously served on the Board of the Association of Connecticut Lobbyists.

20+ years

John R. Hammond III is co-chair of Ice Miller's Public Affairs Group. As a veteran of Indiana state government, he has helped shape a wide variety of public policy, from tax policy to environmental management, education to tort reform, transportation to insurance and economic development.

John served as a key aide to former Indiana Governor Robert D. Orr during his time as lieutenant governor, as well as serving as a deputy campaign manager for Orr's gubernatorial run in 1979 and heading up his transition team in 1980. He was senior executive assistant for Legislative Affairs and Education Policy in the Orr administration, serving as chief legislative liaison for six general sessions and three special sessions of the Indiana Legislature during the 1980s. Since leaving state government in 1988, he has led the governmental and public affairs programs for several major Indiana firms.

He is a frequent public affairs panelist and lecturer, and is the co-author of the article "Campaigns and Candidates: Lawyers and Their Obligations," prepared for the Legislative Services Agency for Continuing Legal Education's seminar titled, "The Lawyer-Lobbyist." He also serves as a Republican commentator and analyst on Indiana Week in Review, a state wide public affairs news program of WFYI focusing on Indiana government and politics. He has served as an advisor to several statewide campaigns.

John was awarded his Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University in 1976, and a juris doctor from the Indiana University School of Law in 1991. He is admitted to practice law in the state of Indiana.

John joined Ice Miller in February 2001.

20+ years

Selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America, Government Relations, 2011-2025

Member, Virginia Code Commission

Commissioner (Virginia), Uniform Law Commission

In addition to being an attorney with McGuireWoods LLP, Chris is an executive vice president in McGuireWoods Consulting. His government affairs practice consists of representing clients before the Virginia legislature, executive branch and state and local agencies.
Chris' legal practice involves advising companies on political law compliance activities, including lobbying, gift restrictions involving public officials, campaign finance, and government ethics laws. He also holds the CIPP/US credential as a Certified Information Privacy Professional from the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).

With more than 25 years of experience in Virginia government and politics, Chris has developed a deep knowledge of Virginia state and local government and the legislative and regulatory process. Drawing on his experience as a lobbyist and as the former chief counsel to a Virginia attorney general, Chris assists clients in developing and implementing legislative and regulatory strategies to meet their business and public policy objectives.

Chris brings a unique perspective to his political law practice because of his government relations experience. Understanding the political process and the practice of government relations is essential to advising a client on how to comply with the myriad of federal, state and local rules governing lobbying, ethics, conflicts of interest, ethics in public procurement and campaign finance, while still achieving the client's business and public policy objectives.

15-20 years

With twenty years of senior leadership experience in public policy and external affairs, Michael is a valued partner for business leaders navigating the intersection of the public and private sectors at the state level. Michael helps lead the state health care practice, while his passion for emerging technology has translated to a thriving practice in this space for Tremont Strategies.

Before his role as a founding partner at TSG, Michael served as Vice President for External Relations at an international medical services where he led government affairs, communications, business development and community relations.

Prior to that, Michael was Executive Vice President at a top healthcare public affairs firm, as well as Managing Partner at a multistate and federal government relations firm. Michael began his career in working in the Maine State Senate and later served as senior staff member for the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

Michael is on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center and a Liaison Board Member for the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs. Michael graduated with distinction with a degree in Government from Colby College.