Former Congressman Mike Doyle to take job with Pittsburgh law firm
After serving nearly three decades in Congress, former U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle will be taking a lobbying job at a multinational law firm based in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP announced last week that Doyle will be joining the firm as a government affairs counselor.
Doyle, a Democrat from Forest Hills, will have a focus on public policy and law at K&L Gates. Thomas J. Smith, managing partner of the firm’s Pittsburgh office, said Doyle’s experience in serving on technology and energy committees will be invaluable to the firm. Doyle chaired the Communications and Technology subcommittee inside the House’s Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“Congressman Doyle’s deep experience in areas of energy, robotics and health care makes him an ideal fit for this office, and will be of great value to our clients in those industries,” Smith said in a release. “We are greatly pleased that, of his many options, he chose to join our firm and remain in his beloved Pittsburgh.”
First elected in 1994, Doyle served 14 terms in the House of Representatives representing a district that included Pittsburgh and surrounding suburbs. His grandfather and father both worked in steel mills during his childhood in Swissvale.
Doyle announced his retirement last week, and Congresswoman Summer Lee, D-Swissvale, was sworn into Doyle’s former seat on Tuesday.
Much of Doyle’s later career in Congress was focused on issues important to Southwestern Pennsylvania: robotics and energy, particularly hydrogen. Pittsburgh has emerged as a nationwide leader in the robotics field and the region is currently competing to be named a hydrogen hub by the federal government. That designation could come with over $1 billion in federal funding.
Doyle said he is excited for the opportunity at K&L Gates.
“I look forward to continue assisting the Pittsburgh-area and other businesses, universities and nonprofits with accessing federal support and helping them navigate the complexities of the legislative and executive branches in Washington, D.C.,” he said in a statement.
Doyle becomes the third former member of Congress to join K&L Gates, following former U.S. Reps. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., and Bart Gordon, D-Tenn.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.
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