Trade group the Associated General Contractors of America has retained law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr for Capitol Hill representation on government contract issues.

AGC

AGC is the leading association advocating for the U.S. construction industry, representing general contractors, specialty contractors and service providers and suppliers on national policy issues. Founded in 1918 at the request of Woodrow Wilson, the non-profit maintains a nationwide network of chapters and represents more than 32,000 industry firms.

AGC has requested that lawmakers address what they characterize as a construction labor shortage in the U.S. by increasing funding for the Perkins Act, which provides funds for career and technical training programs.

While U.S. construction employment has grown at a faster rate than the overall economy — adding 11,000 jobs in May alone, a 2.9 percent year-over-year increase, according to AGC’s analysis of government data — construction firms now find themselves struggling to find enough suitable workers to meet project demands.

According to AGC analysis, the average weekly work rate in construction is now 39.9 hours, the highest it has been since 2006.

A three-person team manages the AGC account, which includes: Robert Lehman, former chief of staff to Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) and chief of staff to the Office of Management and Budget; Jonathan Yarowsky, former special counsel to President Clinton and general counsel to the House Committee on the Judiciary; and Timothy Martin, former legislative director to Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and general counsel and senior legislative assistant to Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO).

Boston and D.C.-based WilmerHale, which was founded in 2004, staffs more than 1,000 lawyers in a dozen offices across the United States, Europe and Asia.