Kenneth Starr’s Law Firm Gives More Money to Clinton.
What is going on? Seems like even the Republicans are giving more money to Democrats.
Written by GussJuly 31 (Bloomberg) — Lawyers at Kirkland & Ellis, the law firm that’s home to Whitewater prosecutor Kenneth Starr and Bush administration official Jay Lefkowitz, have given more to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign than to all of the top Republican candidates combined.
Kirkland, based in Chicago, is one of several corporate law firms that traditionally backed Republicans where lawyers are turning to Democratic candidates. Lawyers say the change is largely due to disenchantment with the Republican Party’s social policies and the war in Iraq.“The Iraq war has a very significant pull on people, but it’s not just limited to that,” said Kirk Radke, a New York partner at Kirkland who is fundraising for Clinton. “There’s the need for a better posture within the international community.”
Large U.S. firms such as Jones Day and Sidley Austin, which donated more to President George W. Bush in 2000 than to Democratic candidate Al Gore, are giving thousands more to Democratic hopefuls than Republicans. Top Wall Street investment banks and hedge funds are also giving more to Democrats.
Clinton, a New York senator, and Barack Obama, an Illinois senator, are benefiting the most from the largest law firms, according to the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, a nonprofit organization that tracks political contributions. Five of Clinton’s 10 largest donor groups are from law firms.
`Conventional Wisdom’
“Firms want to be on the good side of who they think is going to be the incumbent, whether or not that person is good for business,” said Bruce MacEwen, a nonpartisan New York legal consultant. “The conventional wisdom is that the Democrats are going to win the White House.”
Even at Jones Day, the 2,167-lawyer firm that represents the Republican National Committee, attorneys have given 3 1/2 times as much to the three Democratic frontrunners, including $131,333 to Obama. The Cleveland-based firm’s lawyers donated more than twice as much to Bush than to Gore in 2000 and slightly more to Bush in 2004.
Overall, lawyers in and out of large firms have given $18.27 million to Democrats Clinton, Obama and John Edwards, compared with $5.75 million to Republicans Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney. Edwards, a former senator from North Carolina and a trial lawyer, leads the pack, backed mainly by attorneys who sue on behalf of shareholders and individuals.
The donations of big firm lawyers mirror those of the largest Wall Street investment bankers who have also backed Democrats this year. Employees at the top 10 Wall Street investment banks gave more than $1.4 million to Democrats and a little more than $900,000 to Republicans, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
`Hometown Favoritism’
Republicans such as Lefkowitz say part of the imbalance is due to the lack of a clear frontrunner among the GOP candidates.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm now on the Democratic side,” said Lefkowitz, who is serving as Bush’s special envoy for human rights in North Korea. “There’s a healthy race between Clinton and Obama and that’s exciting a lot of people. In firms that have big offices in cities like New York and Chicago, you’re going to see some hometown favoritism.”
Kirkland, whose clients include Boeing Co. and Apple Inc., has given $194,601 to the top three Democrats compared with $84,750 to Giuliani, McCain and Romney. Lawyers at the firm gave 28 percent more to Bush than Gore in 2000 and 34 percent more to Bush than to Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004.
Law Firm DonationsFirm Total Contributions
Skadden Arps $314,966Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$133,310 $91,256 $57,250 $10,700 18,150 $4,300Sidley Austin $294,665
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$63,000 $180,365 $33,800 $9,400 $5,800 $2,300DLA Piper $291,977
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$241,220 $35,257 $9,900 $0 $1,000 $4,600Kirkland $279,351
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$111,950 $82,651 $0 $6,000 $3,800 $74,950Blank Rome $267,650
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$95,500 $17,150 $0 $4,800 $137,700 $12,500Greenberg Traurig $252,893
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$86,200 $19,356 $1,050 $42,750 $101,537 $2,000Jones Day $182,313
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$4,000 $131,333 $6,829 $25,651 $12,750 $1,750Latham & Watkins $178,578
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$68,150 $62,028 $8,450 $2,550 $16,750 $20,650Akin Gump $166,944
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$68,830 $51,814 $9,150 $21,750 $11,100 $4,300WilmerHale $161,790
Clinton Obama Edwards Giuliani McCain Romney
$43,930 $89,010 $11,450 $350 $12,450 $4,600
~J~ Says:
July 31st, 2007 at 12:33 pmVisit ~J~
These firms hedge their bets, and the money is on the Democrats to win the presidency and Hillary to win the nomination.
This isn’t really unusual.
Guss Says:
July 31st, 2007 at 12:42 pmVisit Guss
I know, they are like the wind. They blow in all directions.
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