Maryland Chamber of Commerce hires new lobbyist

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce recently hired Lawrence A. Richardson Jr. as its vice president of government relations.

Richardson started the job on Oct. 3. He was a claim attorney and jurisdictional specialist for State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, according to a chamber press release.

Richardson has over 20 years of experience as a government affairs representative for State Farm and is a registered lobbyist in Maryland, Baltimore City and Washington, D.C. He has worked on legislative, general business and public relations issues before the Maryland General Assembly, the Council of the District of Columbia, the Baltimore City Council and their respective executive branch and regulatory agencies, according to the release.

Prior to his time at State Farm, Richardson spent 10 years as a staff attorney with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mar yland, five of those as counsel for the Office of Government Affairs where he analyzed and drafted legislation and amendments to bills for Mar yland General Assembly consideration.

He plans to use that experience advocating on behalf of the Maryland business community to grow jobs, reduce regulations and making Mar yland more competitive, the press release said.

After attending Towson State University, Richardson graduated cum laude from the University of Baltimore with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. He went on to earn his juris doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law.