Introduction

Dana Simpson co-chairs the Government Relations practice at Smith Anderson and regularly represents clients before the North Carolina General Assembly and with State agencies.

Dana advises clients regarding legislative and regulatory advocacy, public relations, issues management, economic development initiatives, ethics, and campaign finance law compliance. Dana has been consistently rated one of the most influential lobbyists in North Carolina by both the nonpartisan N.C. Center for Public Policy Research and The North State Journal.

Prior to law school, Dana served as Special Assistant for Communications and Policy to the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives.

Dana also has experience representing clients on rule-making and administrative law matters. He served as a member of the North Carolina Rules Review Commission from 2003-2006.

Achievements

"North Carolina's Top Lobbyists" - North State Journal (2020)
Best Lawyers Government Relations Practice (2009-2022)
Business North Carolina Legal Elite
Triangle Business Journal "40 Under 40 Leadership Award (2012)

Clients

1) Acadia Healthcare, Inc.

2) Accenture LLP

3) Acentra Health

4) Action Now Initiative, LLC

5) Bellsouth Telecommunications, LLC d/b/a AT&,T North Carolina

6) BenefitFocus.com, Inc.

7) Community Care of North Carolina, Inc.

8) Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

9) DaVita, Inc.

10) Dell Technologies Inc.

11) Duke Energy Business Services LLC

12) First Flight Venture Center, Inc.

13) FirstHealth of the Carolinas, Inc.

14) Foundation Medicine, Inc.

15) Gilead Sciences, Inc.

16) Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc., USA

17) Granville County

18) Granville Health System

19) HORNE LLP

20) ID.me, Inc.

21) Instructure, Inc.

22) Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.

23) Massage Envy -- North Carolina Region Co-op

24) Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company

25) NC Museum of Art Foundation

26) North Carolina Biotechnology Center

27) North Carolina Dental Society

28) North Carolina Oncology Association

29) North Carolina Railroad Company

30) North Carolina Society of Anesthesiologists

31) North Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition

32) Novartis Services, Inc.

33) Purdue Pharma LP

34) SailPoint Technologies, Inc.

35) SCI North Carolina Funeral Services, Inc.

36) ServiceNow, Inc.

37) South Granville Water and Sewer Authority

38) VMware LLC and its Affiliates

39) Volvo Group North America, LLC

40) WakeMed Health and Hospitals

41) Wolfspeed, Inc.

Number of Years as a Lobbyist

20+ years

Last Updated: September 25, 2025