(Reuters) - Chicago-based law firm Sidley Austin has registered its lobbying work for the U.S. subsidiary of Chinese video surveillance company Hikvision under a U.S. foreign agents law, revealing about $7.4 million in fees since 2018.
Sidley, one of the country's top firms by revenue, said on Monday that its Oct. 14 registration for California-headquartered Hikvision USA Inc was done "solely in response to a request" from the U.S. Justice Department.
The firm had earlier disclosed its lobbying through a separate federal law in 2018 after it was retained then by Hikvision.
The Justice Department declined to comment about why it asked Sidley now to register its lobbying under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which offers a public window into advocacy for some international clients. The firm also did not provide further comment about the timing of its registration.
Foreign-agent registration has come under scrutiny, as the U.S. in recent years ramped up its monitoring of influence campaigns in the U.S. Last week, casino tycoon Steve Wynn defeated the DOJ's lawsuit in Washington, D.C., federal court to force him to register as a foreign agent of China.
Michael Borden, who leads Sidley's government strategies group and who registered as a foreign agent for Hikvision, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
A representative from Hikvision did not immediately respond to a similar message. The company, which conducts research and development and...
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