“They call me and say, ‘If we don’t get this bill passed, my company is going bankrupt in three months. What’s it gonna take?’ We need to move heaven and earth.”
That’s how Nick Muzin describes the high-stakes client calls driving his unorthodox approach to Washington lobbying. While most firms lock clients into six or twelve-month contracts, Muzin’s powerhouse operation, Stonington Global, offers something radically different: a month-to-month retainer model that lets clients walk away at any time.
Muzin’s firm is the “black card” of lobbying —yet despite the premiums, he maintains long-term relationships with clients who could leave every 30 days. Many lobbying professionals would consider this business suicide, yet Stonington Global thrives under this arrangement.
Why would someone with Muzin’s pedigree—former chief of staff to Senator Tim Scott, deputy chief of staff for Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign, and coalition director for the House Republican Conference—deliberately create what appears to be a precarious business model?
The answer lies in his unique career path, the specific client base he targets, and a philosophy about professional relationships formed during his medical training at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
The Urgent Care Approach to Political Problem-Solving
A visitor to Washington encounters lobbying firms of every size and specialty, mostly operating on comfortable rhythms—quarterly strategy sessions, regular progress reports, occasional meetings with officials, and incremental advancement over predictable timeframes. Standard contracts reflect this pace, with firms requiring clients to commit financially regardless of outcomes.
Nick Muzin noticed these arrangements often substituted process for results. Many Washington relationships became comfortable arrangements where detailed activity reports replaced tangible outcomes. Companies paid for access without guaranteed results.
Urgent situations demand different service structures than traditional lobbying provides. Muzin’s month-to-month model emerged from recognizing a disconnect between industry practices and the needs of companies facing existential threats requiring immediate action rather than gradual influence campaigns.
From Medical Rounds to Political Rounds
Oddly enough, Nick Muzin’s business approach mirrors medical practice more than traditional lobbying. After earning his M.D. and completing an internship in internal medicine, he observed healthcare delivery structures that would later shape his political consulting approach.
Physicians face constant performance scrutiny. Patients expect immediate attention to their problems and can change doctors if dissatisfied. Medical providers must demonstrate value during each interaction rather than relying on long-term contracts or relationships.
“I still keep my license active,” Muzin noted, highlighting his continued connection to medicine even years into his political career. Every two years, he completes required continuing education credits to maintain his medical credentials—a parallel to his month-to-month business model that requires continuous demonstration of competence rather than resting on credentials or past achievements.
Muzin’s arrangement establishes a perpetual performance review cycle. Much like doctors who must deliver quality care consistently to maintain their patient base, Muzin subjects himself to monthly evaluation by clients demanding tangible achievements.
Shifting Power Dynamics in Client Relationships
Traditional lobbying contracts create leverage imbalances favoring firms. Once clients commit to lengthy agreements, they have minimal recourse if performance disappoints. They remain financially obligated regardless of results, weakening their negotiating position should problems arise.
Nick Muzin deliberately inverts this power dynamic, giving clients exit options every 30 days: “We structure our agreements this way because we prioritize client satisfaction. If after one month our services haven’t demonstrated clear value, we prefer not to continue the financial arrangement or invest additional resources.”
This arrangement forces his firm to maintain intensity throughout engagements rather than coasting after initial honeymoon periods. The model creates urgency that traditional contracts deliberately avoid.
His approach attracts organizations facing critical deadlines—companies fighting existential regulatory threats, groups needing legislative victories on tight timelines, or entities requiring immediate crisis intervention. These high-pressure situations match Muzin’s background managing political campaigns, where daily performance determined ultimate success.
Premium Pricing as Client Filter
Nick Muzin’s model comes with substantially higher costs than industry standards. While he hasn’t disclosed specific rates, he positions his services at premium levels while offering flexibility traditional firms don’t provide.
This pricing strategy serves multiple functions beyond revenue generation. First, it filters potential clients, attracting those with serious issues willing to pay premium rates for immediate attention. Second, it aligns with specialized expertise handling complex matters requiring intricate knowledge. Third, it compensates for increased business risk created by offering month-to-month terms.
The approach succeeds because certain client segments value contractual flexibility more than lower rates. Companies facing bet-the-company scenarios—regulatory decisions threatening business models, legislative battles with enormous financial implications, or time-sensitive governmental approvals—prioritize performance over price.
Muzin’s pricing philosophy resembles speciality medical practices more than traditional lobbying. Much like how patients willingly pay premium rates for specialists with unique expertise during medical crises, Muzin’s clients pay higher fees to access specialized political knowledge during urgent situations.
Client Acquisition Through Reputation
Stonington Global maintains a deliberately selective client acquisition approach. With higher fees and intense resource commitments required for each engagement, the firm cannot maintain large client rosters typical of traditional lobbying operations.
“It’s exclusively referral,” Nick Muzin explained about his business development approach. “It’s word of mouth. It’s referral and it’s my network and people that I know.”
This selectivity ensures clients align with the firm’s expertise and model. The approach focuses on organizations needing specialized government relations services rather than routine lobbying. Many face complex situations requiring intricate knowledge of political landscapes that Muzin’s background in medicine, law, and politics provides.
The referral-based acquisition model parallels how many physicians build practices through professional networks and patient recommendations rather than advertising. Medical specialities often grow through reputation within professional communities—a pattern Muzin has replicated in political consulting.
Client Retention Despite Easy Exits
Perhaps counterintuitively, Nick Muzin’s month-to-month model produces strong client retention despite offering continuous exit options. Many clients maintain long-term relationships with Stonington Global despite having monthly opportunities to terminate services.
“Fortunately, our client retention remains strong, with many professional relationships extending across multiple years,” Muzin noted.
Conventional wisdom suggests offering clients perpetual exit ramps would increase turnover. However, the arrangement’s accountability features apparently create loyalty based on demonstrated performance rather than contractual obligations. Clients remain because they perceive ongoing value, not because termination penalties prevent departure.
The retention pattern indicates the model delivers sufficient value that clients voluntarily continue engagements month after month. Similar to patients maintaining long-term relationships with physicians who consistently address their health concerns effectively, Muzin’s clients maintain relationships based on results rather than contracts.
“Occasionally we resolve specific situations for clients who subsequently no longer require our services, which we view as a successful outcome. However, in most cases, when organizations identify effective partners, they maintain those relationships because they recognize the return on investment.”
This approach might fail for traditional lobbying activities requiring extended timeframes—building coalitions across diverse stakeholder groups, influencing complex regulatory processes spanning years, or shifting deeply entrenched policies. However, for discrete issues requiring rapid resolution, Muzin’s model offers advantages traditional approaches lack.
