The President of the American League of Lobbyists [3], Paul Miller [4], told PR Week that the controversy over Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff [5], is "not necessarily hurting us doing business." Abramoff and his partner Adam Kidan [6] were sentenced in March by Federal Court Judge Paul Huck to 70 months in federal prison, placed on three years' probation and directed to pay $21.7 million in restitution. Miller acknowledged that the reputation of lobbyists is not "stellar" but defended their role as a modern necessity. "There's a real, fundamental need for us. You think we have a bad system now? Without us, just see what kind of government we'd have then," he said.