1816 Public Affairs Group

What 1816 Public Affairs Group does

1816 Public Affairs Group LLC is a privately held, Indianapolis-based government relations firm offering four core services: Government Affairs (legislative lobbying, regulatory advocacy, and political strategy), Public Relations (reputation management), Association Management (operational support for trade associations), and PAC Administration (contributions processing, compliance reporting, and fundraising). The firm serves corporate clients, trade associations, and political organizations across multiple industries including healthcare, utilities, gaming, telecommunications, broadband, and alcohol distribution, with primary geographic focus on Indiana and secondary reach across the broader Midwest United States.

The firm's competitive position is built on insider government experience — the team includes a former Indiana House Speaker (longest-serving in state history), a former Governor's Legislative Director, former Governor's deputy legislative liaison, multiple former Indiana Family and Social Services Administration legislative directors, and alumni of Am Law 100 firms and major corporate government affairs roles. The team collectively holds over 100 years of government experience. In 2024, the firm merged with KWK Management Group (founded 1992), broadening its partner group and client base. The combined entity operates from One American Square in Indianapolis with a mailing address in Brownsburg, Indiana, and is led by Managing Partner Michael O'Brien.

The business model is classic professional services: revenue comes from retainer agreements and project-based engagements with corporate and association clients, billed on multi-year contracts with individually negotiated, non-publicly-disclosed pricing. Go-to-market is relationship-driven, relying on referrals, professional networks, board/association leadership roles, and earned media visibility (including the Managing Partner's weekly panelist role on WFYI's Indiana Week in Review). Ownership is internal — partner-members with no external venture, private equity, or institutional investment.

Name

1816 Public Affairs Group

Legal name

1816 Public Affairs Group LLC

Website

https://1816llc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

1816 Public Affairs Group is a privately held Indianapolis-based government relations firm providing lobbying, association management, PAC administration, and public relations services to corporate, association, and political clients across Indiana and the broader Midwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Relations Consulting

NAICS

Public Relations Agencies (54182), Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAFADAB

Public Affairs, Government Relations & Lobbying

Business & Public Services/Marketing, Advertising & PR Services/Public Relations & Communications

SECONDARYMPAAADAE

Public Affairs & Government Relations

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Advertising, Marketing & PR Services/Public Relations & Communications Agencies

SECONDARYEDADAKAN

Communications, Marketing & Government/Community Relations Administration

Education/Education Administration, Accreditation & Policy/Institutional Governance & Administration (School/College/University Admin)

Keywords

• Government affairs consulting
• Legislative lobbying services
• Association management
• PAC administration
• Public affairs strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Government Affairs Consulting: Professional consulting fees for legislative and executive branch lobbying, regulatory affairs, public policy initiatives, and political strategy services. Revenue is generated through retainer agreements and project-based engagements with corporate clients, associations, and non-profit organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

1816 Public Affairs Group is a comprehensive government relations firm that delivers four core services: Government Affairs (legislative navigation, policy influence, and lobbying at federal, state, and local levels), Public Relations (reputation and image management), Association Management (operations, communications, and community-building for trade associations such as Indiana Beverage Alliance and Indiana Broadband and Technology Association), and PAC Administration (political contributions processing, reporting, and fundraising strategy).

Product overview

1816 Public Affairs Group is a comprehensive government relations firm offering four core services: Government Affairs (legislative navigation and policy influence), Public Relations (reputation management), Association Management (operational streamlining for trade groups), and PAC Administration (political contributions and reporting). The firm has over 100 combined years of experience and specializes in Indiana state-level government relations with federal and local capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Government Affairs

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• KWK Management GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, 1816 Public Affairs Group merged with KWK Management Group, a well-established lobbying firm. Following the merger, Managing Partner Michael O'Brien leads the combined team. KWK Management Group, founded in 1992, brought additional government affairs expertise and client relationships to the combined firm.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Holland & Knight LLP: Large national law firm with an established public policy and government affairs practice serving corporate and association clients. Competes indirectly with 1816 for clients needing federal advocacy and multi-jurisdiction coverage.
• K&L Gates LLP: International law firm with a broad government affairs and lobbying group serving corporate clients across regulated industries. Larger incumbent that competes for the same corporate, healthcare, and utility clients1816 represents at the state level.
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP: Major international law firm widely recognized as one of the top lobbying and public policy practices in the U.S. Provides government affairs services across multiple jurisdictions — a much broader incumbent competing for federal-level and large multi-state corporate clients.
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP: National law and lobbying firm with deep state-level government affairs capabilities across multiple U.S. state capitals. Overlaps with 1816 on corporate and association representation but at substantially greater geographic and resource scale.

Direct peers

• Dentons: Global law firm where Director Grant Krevda previously lobbied on healthcare, utilities, energy, social services, and economic development. Maintains a sizeable government affairs practice in Indiana and competes for the same healthcare and utilities clients.
• Bose Public Affairs Group: Indianapolis-based government affairs and public relations firm where Managing Partner Michael O'Brien previously served as a vice president. Directly competes in the same Indiana state-level lobbying market with overlapping corporate, association, and PAC clients.
• Ice Miller LLP: Indianapolis-based law and government affairs firm with a longstanding Indiana Statehouse lobbying practice. Competes for corporate, municipal, and association government affairs engagements across the same state-level policy verticals.
• Barnes & Thornburg LLP: Indianapolis-based full-service law firm with a strong state and federal government affairs practice; Michael O'Brien previously served as a senior public policy advisor. Overlaps directly in Indiana corporate and association lobbying engagements.
• Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath: National law and government affairs firm with an established Indianapolis presence and Indiana state lobbying team. Competes for the same corporate and association clients seeking Indiana government affairs representation.
• Krieg DeVault LLP: Indianapolis-headquartered law firm with a substantial governmental affairs practice; partner Kelli Waggoner previously led its health policy group and supervised legislative activities. Competes head-to-head for Indiana state lobbying and association clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1816-public-affairs-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 1816 Public Affairs Group