Through Contributions, Legal Industry Telegraphs Its Preferences for Next NY AG

Various law firms and members of the legal community have started backing candidates for New York attorney general, filings with the state Board of Elections show, and three of the five hopefuls are leading the way.Three of the five major-party candidates—New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, a Democrat; U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, D-New York; and Ropes & Gray partner Keith Wofford, a Republican—have each raised in the neighborhood of $1 million in the two months since former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned amid allegations of domestic violence. All of the hopefuls drew on contributions from the legal community in building their campaign war chests, campaign finance documents show. Two other major-party hopefuls—Fordham law professor Zephyr Teachout and Leecia Eve, a former aide to Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo—also drew on lawyers and law firms for funding. James outpaced the field with about $1.16 million in contributions over two months. She had $991,480 cash on hand after spending during the filing period.Her top contributors were unions. The International Union of Operating Engineers was her top donor, with a $65,100 contribution at the end of June. Other top contributors were the Communication Workers of America, the Hotel Trades Council, and the Transport Workers Union. James also has the backing of a few important groups in the legal community. The state Trial Lawyers Association gave her $10,000 earlier this month and the New York State Court Officers Association gave her $10,000 in June. Law firms were also among James’ top donors. Emmet, Marvin & Martin, a firm in the New York City area specializing in banking, real estate and corporate law, gave James $10,000 in June. Pitta LLP, a labor and employment law firm with offices in New York City and Albany, gave James $5,000 in July. DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, a real estate and commercial law firm in White Plains, donated $2,500 to James in July.James also received a $10,000 from John Coale, a politically well-connected Washington, D.C., lawyer and husband to former Fox News Host Greta van Susteren.Maloney came close to outraising James, campaign finance documents show. He raised more than $1.12 million during the same period. He reported $981,385 in cash on hand after spending.His top contributors appear to be a family from Florida. Melony and Adam Lewis from Coral Gables, Florida, gave a combined $130,200 to Maloney. Jonathan Lewis, also of Florida, gave $65,100.Also among Maloney’s top contributors in the legal world was Carl Loewenson, a partner at Morrison & Foerster’s New York office who focuses primarily on white-collar defense cases. Loewenson and his wife gave Maloney a combined $42,200. Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber, a consumer protection and employment firm in White Plains, gave Maloney $10,000 in July. Finkelstein & Partners, a personal injury firm in Newburgh, gave Maloney $5,000. Jacoby & Meyers, a consumer law firm in Newburgh, gave Maloney $5,000. Wofford, the Republican in the race, was the third top fundraiser, according to the campaign finance reports. He collected $948,672 over the two months. After a loan to his campaign, he had more than $1.02 million on hand at the end of the filing period—more than any other candidate.Wofford received no donations from law firms, but he brought in plenty from his colleagues at Ropes & Gray in New York. Wofford is a partner at Ropes & Gray specializing in bankruptcy and creditors’ rights. He is on a leave of absence from the firm at the moment.Filings show his colleagues at the firm contributed at least $197,000 in June and July. Those donations came from partners Jonathan Gill, Mark Somerstein, Stephen Moeller-Sally, Peter Welsh, Mark Bane and Randall Bodner.His other top legal donors were Dennis Dunne, a partner at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in Manhattan, who gave $20,000; Charles Joyce, a partner at Spear Wilderman, who gave $20,000; and Thad Davis, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in New York, who gave $24,000.Wofford also received $194,000 from the State Republican Committee and its chair, Edward Cox. Harry Wilson, a corporate restructuring expert who was once considered a leading Republican candidate for governor this year, donated $5,000 to Wofford.Teachout, who challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the 2014 primary and made an unsuccessful run for Congress from an upstate New York district in 2016, collected about half as much as the three top-raising candidates. A query on the Board of Elections database showed about $551,000 in contributions for Teachout since Schneiderman’s resignation. She spent $262,098 during that time, making her cash on hand about $289,000. Teachout has few big-money donors. Among her largest contributors was Bradford Burnham, a partner at Union Square Ventures, a venture capital firm. Another top donor was Daniel Berger, a managing shareholder at Berger & Montague in Philadelphia, who gave Teachout's campaign $21,000. She did not receive any donations directly from law firms.Teachout also has a few random small donations from big people. Actress Susan Sarandon gave $1,000 to Teachout’s campaign this month. Online review website Yelp co-founders Russel Simmons and Jeremy Stoppelman gave a combined $6,500. Prominent Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig, who has endorsed Teachout, gave her $500.Eve raised $299,416 and had $250,719 on hand after spending, according to reports from the Board of Elections.Some of her largest donors are affiliated with Verizon, where Eve is vice president of state government affairs in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Randal Milch, a former Verizon executive who is now a co-chair of the NYU Center for Cybersecurity, gave Eve $25,000 between two donations. Michelle Ifill, a senior vice president and general counsel at Verizon, gave $5,555. Eve’s largest donation from the legal industry was from Patrick Dunican, chairman and managing director of Gibbons P.C., who specializes in business and commercial litigation. He gave Eve $21,000. Jill Louis, a partner at K&L Gates in Dallas, gave Eve $10,000. Mylan Denerstein, a partner at Gibson Dunn in Manhattan, gave Eve $2,500.Eve’s top donation from a law firm came from Javerbaum Wurgaft Hicks Kahn Wikstrom & Sinins in Manhattan, which gave $2,500. She also received $500 from Phillips Lytle, which has offices around the state.Kevin O’Toole, chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, also gave Eve $5,000. Eve is on the Port Authority’s board of commissioners. Money is always a factor in any election, but especially so in this year’s race for attorney general where each candidate lacks statewide name recognition. The statewide primary, when voters will decide among the four Democrats, is set for Sept. 13. The general election is set for Nov. 6.