Lawyers Make More Campaign Contributions than Any Other Profession: An Analysis

Summary

The legal profession has long been a major force in political campaigns, with lawyers and law firms making some of the biggest contributions to candidates and political causes. According to a recent analysis by OpenSecrets.org, lawyers and law firms have been the most consistent industry donors to congressional and presidential campaigns in the past 20 years, outspending all other industries.


From 1998 to 2018, lawyers and law firms donated over $620 million to federal candidates and political committees, with the majority of funds going to the Democratic party. This marks a significant increase from the 1990s and 2000s, when the legal profession contributed much less to political campaigns.

The analysis found that in 2018 alone, the legal profession donated more than $142 million to federal candidates and parties, making it the largest source of industry contributions. This is followed by the real estate industry, which contributed nearly $134 million that same year.

The OpenSecrets.org analysis found that the legal profession tends to give more money to individual candidates than other industries. In 2018, lawyers and law firms gave $91 million to candidates, compared to $51 million to political parties and other political organizations.

Lawyers and law firms also tend to favor Democratic candidates when making political contributions. Of the $620 million in contributions made by the legal profession since 1998, 69% went to Democratic candidates and causes. In contrast, the real estate industry gave 62.5% of its contributions to the Republican party.

The contributions of lawyers and law firms have not been limited to federal campaigns. In many state and local races, lawyers and law firms have been significant sources of campaign funding. In 2016, for example, the legal profession contributed more than $43 million to state and local campaigns.

The contributions of lawyers and law firms are likely to remain a major factor in political campaigns in the years to come. With their large campaigns budgets and access to a broad donor base, lawyers and law firms are likely to remain one of the most significant sources of campaign contributions.

The legal profession has firmly established itself as a major source of campaign contributions in the last 20 years. Lawyers and law firms have donated over $620 million to federal campaigns since 1998, with 68% of these contributions going to the Democratic party. This trend has also been seen in state and local campaigns, with lawyers and law firms contributing over $43 million in 2016. This steady flow of donations from the legal profession is likely to remain a major factor in political campaigns in the years to come.
 

Legal Profession Campaign Contributions

In the last midterm congressional election, the legal profession edged out all other industries in their campaign contributions. This is not a new phenomenon, as the legal profession has consistently been one of the top campaign contributors in the United States. In 2018, the legal profession accounted for $71 million in campaign contributions to federal candidates, party committees, and other political committees. This accounts for 7.8 percent of all contributions from individuals, far more than any other occupation.
 

Why Legal Profession Consistently Top Contributors?

There are a variety of reasons why the legal profession is consistently among the top campaign contributors. Many lawyers are personally invested in politics and elections, choosing to support candidates whose policies and views align with their own. There is also a sense of professional obligation in the legal community; many lawyers feel a duty to support those who are advocating for the causes that the legal profession feels strongly about. Finally, lawyers and those in the legal profession tend to be more affluent, making it easier for them to contribute more to campaigns.
 

Analysis of 2018 Contributions

The 2018 midterm elections saw a surge in political contributions from the legal profession. Republican candidates received 55 percent of the contributions, while Democratic candidates received 45 percent. This is a reversal of the trend from previous years, when Democratic candidates usually received the larger share of contributions from the legal profession. The biggest contributors were retired or non-practicing lawyers, who contributed $27 million to campaigns.
 

Impact of Campaign Contributions

Campaign contributions from the legal profession play a major role in determining the outcome of elections. Contributions from lawyers provide candidates with much needed financial support, and can help influence public opinion about a particular candidate or issue. Campaign contributions also serve as a signal of support from the legal community, providing candidates with a sense of legitimacy and backing from one of the most influential professions in the United States.

Either way, lawyers opened their checkbooks, contributing big bucks to the presidential election, as well as local races.

Despite dichotomous viewpoints - and opposing parties - attorneys decided to make large contributions to their preferred candidates and causes on the November ballot. In fact, members of the legal profession edged out every other industry in making donations toward the 2004 General Election. Some lobbyists even hedged their bets, contributing to candidates on both sides of the aisle.

As of October 4, when the latest Federal Election Commission figures were available, lawyers and law firms had swept past health care, real estate and business services with nearly $140 million in donations to federal campaigns, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, non-profit research group. Based in Washington, D.C. , the CPR tracks money in politics and its effect on elections and public policy.

Sources speculate the surge in donations from the legal industry could be a sign that lawyers were trying hard to make up for a lack of soft money, due to the sweeping changes in campaign finance law.

The McCain-Feingold law, passed in 2002, bans candidates and parties from accepting "soft money'' contributions and increases contribution limits for individuals giving to federal campaigns. The law's sponsors argued that people believed political influence was up for sale because corporations, unions and special interest groups could donate unlimited amounts of money to political parties.

Since Jan. 1, 2003, Republican President George Bush received donations topping $360 million, while former Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, garnered nearly $320 million in donations. Of the $138,952,018 lawyers and law firms doled out, 73 percent of it was tilted toward the Democrats, according to CPR figures.

One of those Democratic donors was Jeffrey Milman, name partner of Newport Beach law firm Lopez, Hodes, Restaino, Milman & Skikos.

Mr. Milman, president of the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and a member of the American Trial Lawyers Association, said he and members of his firm typically watch the presidential, state and local races, as well as which bills are being pushed and which judges are being appointed.

"We feel passionately about donating. Our clients' lives depend on it,'' Mr. Milman said.

For this election cycle, which runs through Dec. 31, he and the firm contributed thousands of dollars to the campaigns of Mr. Kerry and his vice presidential running mate, Sen. John Edwards, who lost to President Bush; U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, who was elected to a third term, and Tom Umberg, an attorney at San Francisco's Morrison & Forrester who ran for state assembly for the 69th district of California and who held an early lead over his Republican opponent, Otto Bade. Mr. Milman also gave money in an effort to defeat Proposition 64, a ballot measure that addresses shakedown lawsuits filed against business over counterfeit fraud claims. The proposition passed.

While the bill sounded good on its face, Mr. Milmansaid, the underlying targets are consumer, civil rights and environmental organizations because it mandates that only government officials enforce the laws on the public's behalf.

Another ongoing battle for Mr. Milman and trial lawyers in general is the fight against tort reform.

"When someone who has lost a mother or a child to medical malpractice sits across from me in my office, I have to look them in the eye and tell them the most I can recover for them is $250,000. That's wrong,'' said Mr. Milman, whose practice area includes medial malpractice, product liability and personal injury.

"If we can block a bad bill from being on the ballot we will. We don't want to see people harmed,'' he added.

The $250,000 cap, plus out of pocket expenses, stems from the 1975 Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act. Noting that there is no cap on recovery for victims injured in an airplane crash, for example, Mr. Milman said it is unfair to have a special set of rules for medical injuries.

On the other side of the tort reform debate are Republicans, who believe spiraling costs associated with medical malpractice cases have forced many emergency rooms to close and doctors to leave the state.

Keith Carlson, a member of the board of directors for the Republican National Lawyers Association and vice chairman of the California Republican Party, South personally contributes money to Republican candidates who, for one, continue to support reform in the tort area.

However, his donations are modest, said Mr. Carlson, an associate who practices employment law and related litigation at Irvine's Carlton, DiSante & Freudenberger of Irvine. Still, it is important to support elected officials who make and influence law, he said. Taking a swipe at Democrats and plaintiff's bars, Mr. Carlson added that he is not pouring piles of cash into the campaign to "keep my job or get richer by trying to get laws passed. I'm politically involved to help our state and our country.''

Morrison & Forrester partner Judith Droz Keyes has been politically involved for years. The labor and employment lawyer - whose former husband, U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Donald Droz, served alongside Sen. Kerry as one of three Swift boat commanders during a battle in the Dong Cung in Vietnam on Feb. 28, 1969 - has given generously to Democratic campaigns.

"The future of our democracy hangs in the balance. This election is about life and death.'' Ms. Keyes said. "It's about healthcare; it's about the environment; it's about who we're going to bomb and not going to bomb.''

According to FEC figures, in the 2003-2004 election cycle, Ms. Keyes donated $5,000 to Kerry-Edwards General Election Legal and Accounting Compliance Fund and John Kerry for President. Ms. Keyes, a member of Lawyers for Kerry and Edwards, said it is critically important that lawyers donate to campaigns because, as a group, they have a better understanding of the issues facing society.

A week before the election, Ms. Keyes traveled to Pinellas County, Florida for early voting. She helped monitor polling places and noted whether voters were challenged or inappropriately turned away.

Ms. Keyes has helped to raise $100,000 for GELAC in the Bay Area and helped organize a group of volunteer lawyers to head to the swing states and be the legal ears and eyes for the polling places, she said, noting on election day, as mandated by law, they remained 50 feet from the polling premises.

"Donating your time and talent, in the long run, is just as important as donating your money,'' Ms. Keyes said.