Venable managing partner Karl Racine was quoted in “Top 20 Stories of 2009 the In-House Bar Couldn’t Afford to Miss”, a roundup in the December issue of Inside Counsel of the top 20 legal stories of 2009. The publication ranked the election of Barack Obama as the year’s top story, adding that it drove almost all of the stories rounding out the Inside Counsel list.

One of the issues addressed by the recap was the administration’s evolving relationship with the business community in regard to issues such as consumer protection, executive compensation and climate change. According to the article, the President has had some success bridging the philosophical gap between corporate America and his administration.

"It is fair to say that the business community sees the need to have a better relationship with the White House," said Racine, who served as associate White House counsel during the Clinton administration. "That’s apparent from much of the discussion concerning the Chamber of Commerce, as well as those companies that have opted out of the Chamber’s approach to climate change."