J Steven Griles

Lundquist, Nethercutt & Griles has reinvented itself as BlueWater Strategies, with Andrew Lundquist, Eric Washburn and Tim Kurth at the helm. The consulting firm in Washington, D.C., is changing from being a Republican one that focused on energy issues to being bipartisan shop. Lundquist and Washburn's decade-long friendship forms the firm's backbone. The two met when they were working on energy issues on Capitol Hill, albeit on opposite sides of the aisle. Back then, Lundquist was working for Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Washburn was with Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.). They said they've been talking about joining forces since 2002, but the idea started taking shape in the past six months. On Jan. 10, one of the firm's founders, J. Steven Griles, resigned when the Department of Justice notified him that he'd be charged with giving false testimony in connection with its investigation into the lobbying activities of Jack Abramoff. He pled guilty to obstruction of justice charges in March.