BigLaw is Blue by Design and by Donations

Big firms are tilting further left and it is not subtle. Notre Dame professor Derek Muller’s fresh cut of employee giving shows about twelve to one in favour of Democratic outlets across the Am Law 100 and a slate of major plaintiffs shops in the 2023 to 2024 window.

That is fifty two million to Dem aligned groups versus four million to Republican ones. The analysis covers donations by anyone on the firms’ payroll and draws from filings that are visible to anyone with a browser and a tolerance for campaign finance data boredom.

The firms writing the biggest blue cheques include Paul Weiss, Quinn Emanuel, Sullivan & Cromwell and Gibson Dunn. Plaintiffs powerhouses such as Lieff Cabraser, Robbins Geller and Susman Godfrey are essentially all blue all the time. A handful of names do show up on the red ledger including Sullivan & Cromwell, Kirkland & Ellis, Winston & Strawn and Jones Day.

None of the Am Law 100 had a majority of donations to Republicans. That used to be a debate. It is not now, the evidence reveals.

This pattern is not new. The industry has leaned Democratic for years, according to OpenSecrets. What is new is the margin. If you are doing reputational risk, client politics or lateral strategy, the numbers matter more than the firm mythologies. On politics at least, BigLaw is telling you exactly who it is.