Whether as candidates, donors, litigators, commentators, campaign attorneys or otherwise, lawyers and other members of the legal community were engaged and energized as the countdown accelerated to Election Day. Check out our cross-section of continuing ALM coverage on campaign contributions, voter ID laws, Election Day volunteering, and more.
Election Night Produces Mixed Results for Am Law Lawyers
The Am Law Daily (subscription-access)
Among the winners: Morgan Lewis appellate litigation partner Ted Cruz of Texas, who is on his way to the U.S. Senate. The losers with Am Law 200 ties included former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, who stepped down as an Akin Gump health care partner to launch his ultimately unsuccessful campaign against Democrat Tammy Baldwin, who became the first openly gay person elected to the Senate.
The Big Money Behind Warren and Brown's Mass. Senate Race
Corporate Counsel
Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren won a U.S. Senate seat in Massachusetts partly due to strong financial support from universities and plaintiffs law firms, according to a MapLight analysis. Warren placed first in terms of total donations received by all 219 senatorial candidates running in Tuesday's election, while her GOP opponent, Republican Senator Scott Brown, ranked a close second.
Republicans Prevail in Court Elections, but Not in Florida
The National Law Journal
Democrats and Republicans fought hard to gain the advantage in judicial elections in key states Tuesday. In Florida, a Republican-led effort to oust three Florida Supreme Court justices and give the Florida Senate confirmation power over high court appointments failed. Republicans fared better in judicial elections in other states.
Calif. Courts May Have Won Reprieve With Passage of Proposition 30
The Recorder (subscription-access)
When California voters passed the governor's temporary tax measure, they eliminated the threat of $6 billion in spending reductions. Though the cuts were aimed mostly at schools, judiciary leaders feared that politicians could turn their sights to Lady Justice. Election Day was also a good one for the trial lawyers lobby; 29 of its 31 backed candidates in state legislative races were victorious.
Election Kept Phones Ringing in Kirkland's N.Y. Office
The Am Law Daily
If voting machines in Iowa broke down Tuesday or an East Coast voter displaced by Hurricane Sandy wasn't sure where to cast a ballot, there's a good chance someone in Kirkland & Ellis' New York office heard about it. Like a number of other law firms, Kirkland hosted a call center on Election Day to field voters' questions while also providing assistance at polling sites. Kirkland lawyers and staff, as well as lawyers from other firms' New York offices, fielded a heavy stream of calls that outpaced prior years' volume, according to a Kirkland partner who heads the firm's Election Day efforts.
Law Students Answer Help Lines, Monitor Balloting on Election Day
The National Law Journal
As voters around the United States cast their ballots on November 6, hundreds of law students monitored polling sites, answered telephone calls from confused citizens, kept tabs on election developments or canvassed for their chosen candidates.
Attorney Says She Was Yanked From Poll Worker Post After Reporting Illegal Procedures
Daily Business Review
Attorney Lida Rodriguez-Taseff said she has been fired from her post as a paid Florida poll worker after complaining about what she called improper and illegal procedures during early voting. Rodriguez-Taseff, who is a Duane Morris partner and a former chapter president of the ACLU, said she received a call Monday from an election official telling her, "Your services are no longer needed."
Ohio Election Law Quirk Could Play Big Role if Vote Tally Sparks Court Fight
The Am Law Daily
November 5, 2012
As a key election battleground, Ohio has already seen its share of voting-related litigation -- but there's an important legal issue peculiar to Ohio that hasn't gotten much attention, though it will be significant if the state's election tally sparks litigation. Under a relatively new provision of Ohio law, federal election results cannot be challenged in state court.
Campaign Lawyers Facing Variety of Scenarios for Post-Election Litigation
The National Law Journal
Voters could face major challenges as they try to get their ballots counted during the next 24 hours and beyond, and that means some election-related legal battles could be waged long after the polls close Tuesday night, according to voting law experts at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
Squeaker Election Could Spell Serious Squabbling Over Results
The National Law Journal
If the presidential election is as close as predicted, brace yourself for some ugly fallout, partly due to provisional and absentee votes, according to Rick Hasen, the law school professor behind the Election Law Blog. And if you think that Election Day wrangling has diminished since the days of Bush v. Gore, guess again.
Survey Finds Leaders of Large Law Firms Overwhelmingly Predict Win for Obama
The American Lawyer
Asked as part of The American Lawyer's annual Law Firm Leader survey who will win this year's presidential contest, 83 of 106 Am Law 200 managing partners, chairs and other firm leaders said they expect the president to win re-election to a second four-year term when ballots are counted November 6. The survey findings contrast with national polls showing a tight race.
Campaign Donations Show Obama Far Outpacing Romney Among Northern Calif. Lawyers
The Recorder
While Barack Obama is enjoying a 2-to-1 lead over Mitt Romney in campaign donations from lawyers nationwide, the president is seeing an even larger lead among many California lawyers. According to data that the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics compiled for The Recorder, donors identifying one of 10 large San Francisco Bay Area firms as their employer gave more than four times as much to Obama as to Romney.
Two D.C. Lawyers Played Key Role in 'Secret' Debate Agreement
The National Law Journal
The negotiation work of two veteran D.C. lawyers became a key part of the discussion about Tuesday night's second presidential debate, when the somewhat controversial and previously secret agreement between the candidates was leaked to Time magazine.
Chart: Lawyers at Top Firms Give Big to Obama
The National Law Journal
A look at campaign donations by individual attorneys at the biggest NLJ 250 firms shows a 2-to-1 preference for the president over Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
Attorney's Obama Comment Prompts Apology From Wis. Senate Campaign
The Am Law Daily
Aides to Republican Tommy Thompson -- the former Wisconsin governor, one-time Akin Gump partner and current candidate for the U.S. Senate -- said Monday that Thompson's son, Jason, an attorney at Milwaukee-based Michael Best & Friedrich, "said something he should not have" when he remarked that voters should send President Obama back to Kenya.
South Carolina Voter ID Law Blocked, but Only for 2012 Election
The National Law Journal
A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit has ruled that South Carolina's controversial voter identification law doesn't discriminate against minorities. However, the court blocked the law for the 2012 election, noting the potential "chaos" of trying to implement the law in a short time.
Pa. Judge Blocks State Photo ID Requirement
The Legal Intelligencer
Pennsylvania voters won't have to show a photo ID before casting a ballot in November, Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson has ruled. Simpson issued a narrow injunction of the state's new voter ID law on the deadline day he was given by the state Supreme Court, which could still revisit the nationally watched case before the general election.
Lawyers Engaging in Legal Warfare Before the November Election
Daily Business Review
Lawyers are keeping a close eye on lawsuits over voting rights, early voting, voter purges and voter identification issues this political season. But the legal teams' biggest job this year may be training volunteers to work at the polls and having lawyers on the ground to supervise the Election Day poll watchers.
In Campaign Donations, DLA Goes for Obama, Kirkland for Romney
The National Law Journal
Lawyers at the 20 biggest law firms in the United States have so far given President Obama $1.9 million overall this election cycle, versus just over $1 million to Mitt Romney. Leading the donations race: DLA Piper lawyers, who have given Obama more than $345,000 in direct campaign donations as of September 21. That compares to Kirkland & Ellis, whose lawyers have donated $338,000 to Romney (the numbers do not include contributions to PACs).
Study Sees Increasing Disclosure of Corporate Political Spending
Corporate Counsel
A new study by the Center for Political Accountability finds that nearly 60 percent of the top 200 companies in the S&P 500 are disclosing at least some political spending information to the public. Among the 88 companies that the index measured for two years in a row, 85 percent improved their accountability scores.
Lawyers, Firms Contribute Twice as Much to Obama as to Romney
The National Law Journal
President Obama is outpacing Mitt Romney in donations from lawyers by more than a 2-to-1 margin, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. Even so, donations to Obama during the current campaign season pale in comparison to what he took in during the 2007-2008 election cycle, when lawyers and law firms gave him about four times as much as they gave to GOP challenger John McCain.
Commentary: Litigating the Vote
The National Law Journal
Since 2000, the number of election lawsuits per year has more than doubled. Possible reasons: Litigation is a more accepted political strategy, and partisans count the votes.
Am Law Firms Among Paul Ryan's Top Campaign Contributors
The Am Law Daily (subscription-access)
Since Mitt Romney tapped him as his running mate, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan's fundraising ability has gotten plenty of attention. And as is true of many of his fellow politicians, among those Ryan counts on for financial support are Am Law 200 lawyers and employees, with Alston & Bird leading the way.
