Ex-U.S. congressmen draw bigger lobbying fees: analysts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. lawmakers who lobby the federal government command higher average fees for their lobbying firms than other Washington lobbyists do, a new analysis shows.

The analysis by First Street Research Group looks at 30 lobbyists it says are leaders in the profession, as measured by fees and number and type of clients during the first nine months of 2011.

A lobbying contract associated with a former congressman on the list costs on average $178,000 per client. That compares with $148,000 for a contract associated with a former congressional staff member and $108,000 for a contract with a lobbyist who has no past employment with Congress.

"Ex-members of Congress get a lot more money per client," said Stephen Stesney of First Street Research Group, part of the publishing house CQ Press. The analysis is due to be released publicly on Tuesday.

Ten former lawmakers are among the 30 lobbyists in the analysis. They include former Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, now affiliated with the firm Patton Boggs with clients including Citigroup Inc and FedEx Corp, and former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt, whose Gephardt Group lobbies for Visa Inc and Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc. among others.

Twenty-seven of the 30 lobbyists on the list are men.

(Reporting by David Ingram, Editing by Howard Goller)