Synderys LLC Drops Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman After One-Year Lobbying Engagement
Hardware Security Startup Parts Ways With K Street Firm, Brings On New Shop for Cyber and IT Work
Synderys LLC, a cybersecurity company specializing in hardware supply chain verification, filed an LDA termination ending its lobbying relationship with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP effective December 30, 2025. The lobbying disclosure termination caps a roughly one-year engagement during which Synderys paid the firm $170,000 to educate Congress and the Department of Defense about its hardware assurance tool and advocate for related appropriations.
But Synderys isn't leaving K Street entirely. Disclosure records show the company registered a new lobbying firm — AUX Initiatives LLC — back in March 2025, months before the Pillsbury contract ended.
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Why the LDA Termination Matters
The Money
Synderys LLC's lobbying spend with Pillsbury totaled $170,000 over five quarters — $20,000 in the initial Q4 2024 period and a steady $30,000 per quarter through 2025. For a privately held company with 11 to 50 employees and no publicly disclosed revenue or venture funding, that's a meaningful line item.
For Pillsbury, a large law and lobbying firm that was named among The Hill's Top Lobbyists for 2025, the loss of a $120,000-per-year client is not going to move the needle on overall revenue. The firm maintains a substantial roster of clients across multiple sectors.
A New Firm Was Already in Place
The lobbying registration termination in 2025 didn't happen in a vacuum. Synderys had already brought on AUX Initiatives LLC with a new client registration filed in March 2025 — nine months before the Pillsbury termination took effect. AUX's initial filing listed "Cyber and IT solutions" under Government Issues, and a subsequent Q4 2025 filing listed Science/Technology issues related to "IT/Cyber security related issues."
Notably, AUX's filings reported $0 in lobbying income for both quarters on record. That could indicate the engagement is still ramping up or that compensation is structured differently.
The overlap between the two engagements — Pillsbury handling defense and homeland security appropriations work while AUX focused on government IT and cyber issues — suggests Synderys may have been running parallel tracks before consolidating with AUX.
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Broader Context: What's Happening on the Hill
Congress Has Been Moving in Synderys's Direction
Synderys LLC's LDA filings with Pillsbury focused on defense and homeland security — specifically, educating lawmakers about the company's hardware assurance tool and seeking appropriations support. That work coincided with a period of heightened congressional activity on supply chain security.
The FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which was signed into law, contains provisions that align directly with what Synderys sells. Section 849 directs the DoD to develop policies and tools incentivizing defense contractors to assess and monitor their supply chains for vulnerabilities, with an implementation deadline of April 1, 2026. The same legislation authorized a new DoD-wide Hardware and Software Assurance Center to standardize risk assessment and aggregate assurance tool purchases across the department.
The Defense Business Board also published a report in January 2025 recommending the DoD prioritize high-risk supply chain areas and conduct quarterly accountability reviews.
In short, the legislative groundwork that Synderys was lobbying for appears to have been laid during the period its Pillsbury engagement was active.
The DOGE Wildcard
The Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency has been aggressively cutting federal contracts, terminating over $3.1 billion in consulting agreements. That creates uncertainty for any company seeking new government procurement — though Synderys's product is a tangible hardware security tool rather than a consulting service, which may differentiate it from the categories DOGE has targeted most heavily.
No Congressional Heat
There were no congressional hearings mentioning Synderys LLC in the past year, and no member communications — press releases, social media posts, or public statements — referenced the company. Whatever drove the lobbying disclosure termination, it does not appear to have been triggered by negative congressional attention.
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What AUX Initiatives Brings to the Table
The shift from Pillsbury to AUX Initiatives LLC changes the profile of Synderys's Washington representation.
Pillsbury deployed four lobbyists on the Synderys account: Brian E. Finch, John Mark Thomas, Justin Steven Rubin, and Craig Jonathan Saperstein. Thomas brought 12 years of House experience, including serving as chief of staff to Reps. Scott Taylor and Scott Rigell — both Virginia Republicans who represented the Hampton Roads area, home to a heavy military presence. Saperstein had earlier Senate experience, including work on the Judiciary Committee.
AUX Initiatives listed three lobbyists: Buford C. Blount III, Patricia A. Reilly, and James P. Creaghan. Of those, Reilly has the most extensive Hill background — nearly 14 years of House experience, including serving as chief of staff to Rep. Tim Holden (D-PA). Her experience spans both parties and multiple congresses.
The issue focus also shifted. Pillsbury's work was squarely on defense and homeland security appropriations. AUX's filings center on government IT and cybersecurity — a different angle that may reflect Synderys's interest in broader federal technology procurement rather than defense-specific appropriations.
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Bottom Line
Synderys LLC spent a year and $170,000 with one of Washington's most recognized lobbying firms to build congressional awareness of its hardware assurance technology during a period when Congress was actively legislating on supply chain security. The FY2025 NDAA created new institutional mandates that align with Synderys's product.
With that legislative foundation in place, the company has moved on from Pillsbury and is now working with AUX Initiatives on what appears to be a narrower government IT and cybersecurity engagement. The Synderys LLC lobbying registration termination in 2025 closes one chapter — the congressional education phase — while the AUX relationship suggests the company is still investing in Washington advocacy, just through a different firm and on different issues.