Lawyers are among the top political campaign donors this election cycle, but less money overall is being donated to either side of the ticket in this Biden v. Trump rematch. Even with that being the case, which party is taking home the most cash from Biglaw firms, their leaders, and their political action committees?
According to the American Lawyer, Biglaw firms are swiping far right when it comes to this year’s congressional races, with Republicans receiving more campaign contributions than Democrats ($268,025 compared with $231,863). As a whole, however, the legal profession continues to trend left, with more than $103 million going to Democrats, compared to the $42 million going to Republicans in 2023-2024.
Biglaw partners are doing a lot with their wallets, including voting with them. Here are some of the details on Republican donations, courtesy of the National Law Journal, which seem a bit small (tiny donations for tiny hands?) compared to the Democratic donations, which we’ll get to shortly:
Partners from McGuireWoods; Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld; Latham & Watkins; Akerman; Holland & Hart; Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner; DLA Piper; and Ballard Partners contributed to Trump’s presidential campaign and various pro-Trump PACs.
For instance, Tracy Walker, managing partner of McGuireWoods, contributed $2,250 to Donald Trump For President 2024 Inc. and $2,500 to Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, respectively, on March 4 of this year. Walker also contributed $5,000 to the McGuireWoods Federal PAC in January, which has contributed to a number of Democratic and Republican candidates this year.
Other contributions from Big Law attorneys include: Latham & Watkins partner Arthur Long contributed $750 to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee and $675 to Donald J. Trump For President 2024; Finnegan partner Lionel Lavenue contributed $500 to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee and $450 to Donald J. Trump For President 2024 on April 1 of this year; King & Spalding partner Robert Thornton contributed $250 to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee and $225 to Donald J. Trump For President 2024 on March 30 of last year; Holland & Hart partner Robert Ryan contributed over $100 on Dec. 22 last year to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee; DLA Piper partner Anna Spencer contributed $250 this year and last year to the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.
Democratic donations for Election 2024 are a bit more extravagant in nature. Check out these big-time Biglaw campaign contributions:
Big Law partner donations to Biden appear more frequent when reviewing his donor rolls.
To name a few, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison chair Brad Karp contributed $6,600 to Biden for President in June last year; Covington & Burling partner and member of the firm’s management committee Emily Henn contributed $5,000 to Biden for President in March this year; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom partner Kurt Hemr contributed $6,6000 to Biden for President in February this year; Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan partner and co-chair of the insurance litigation group Corey Worcester contributed $3,300 to Biden for President last September; and Sullivan & Cromwell partner Stephanie Wheeler contributed $3,300 to Biden for President last September.
We now know who some of the country’s most prominent legal minds stand with, but will the rest of America agree? Stay tuned as we wait for the winner of the 2024 election in just a few months.
Big Law Campaign Spending Trends Republican in 2024 [American Lawyer]
Which Big Law Lawyers Are Donating to Trump and Biden? [National Law Journal]
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
