The Legal Intelligencer Profiles Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney CEO Jack Barbour, New Government Relations Consultant Kevin Kinross

Across-the-aisle hires may appear to be the exception to partisan rule, but Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney CEO John A. "Jack" Barbour and the firm's newest Government Relations Consultant Kevin Kinross illustrate the importance of political diversity.

In The Legal Intelligencer profile, "Buchanan Ingersoll Now Houses Ex-Gubernatorial Campaign Rivals," Barbour and Kinross explain the mutual respect and client-first mentality that brought Kinross to the firm.

Kinross managed Pennsylvania gubernatorial candidate Dan Onorato's 2010 campaign and after the November primaries called Barbour — co-chairman of Governor Tom Corbett's campaign — to talk careers, not politics.

"Soon after that initial conversation, Kinross had agreed to join Buchanan Ingersoll as senior adviser to the government relations practice," the article explained.

Barbour believed Kinross' addition would strengthen the firm's ability to serve clients. "With our close ties with Corbett, I thought it important that we emphasize that we are bipartisan," Barbour said.

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's bipartisan service was a sticking point for Kinross.

"For me it was the reputation that Buchanan has in the state," he said. "Having the chance to work for someone I respect like Jack and the more over-arching idea of being at a bipartisan firm, after having worked in government you want to be able to get things done and move things forward."

Prior to managing Onorato's gubernatorial bid, Kinross headed the Western Pennsylvania campaigns for President Obama's election and former Governor Edward Rendell's re-election. And though Pennsylvania Republicans hold the governor's mansion, House and Senate, Barbour explained the majority and minority parties overlap on most issues.

"You put them all together and Pennsylvania is a two-party state, so you have to work both sides of the aisle," he explained.