The firms announced that Hulshof will join the combined firms’ public policy practice when the merger is expected to be completed in February. Hulshof will shuttle between Missouri and Washington.
Hulshof served six terms in Congress, representing Missouri’s 9th District in the House from 1997 to January 2009. Most recently, he was the Republican nominee in the Missouri governor’s race, losing to former Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.
Hulshof will become the second congressman to join the firm; former Democratic Representative Jonas Martin Frost III of Texas joined Polsinelli in 2006, and works in the firm’s public policy group in Washington.
The combination of Polsinelli and Shughart will create a firm with more than 480 lawyers, making it one of the biggest law firms in Missouri. Both firms are based in Kansas City.