Jones Day, Perkins Coie Dominate 2020 Election Spending

As the parties and candidates race to amass contributions, big law firms are lining up for their share of all those millions.

July 03, 2019 at 10:52 AM

5 minute read

By Ryan Lovelace

The original version of this story was published on National Law Journal

With nearly a year and a half still to go before the 2020 election, the money race is already well underway.

The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee announced Tuesday that they've raised $105 million in the second quarter of 2019 and are aiming to raise $1 billion for the entire 2020 race. The Democrats are doing their best to catch up, hoping fears of four more years of a Trump administration will fuel contributions big and small.

Where's all that money going? Television, for starters. But also to a parade of law firms, including two of the parties' favorites: Jones Day for the Republicans, and Perkins Coie for the Democrats.

We'll have a fuller picture of election-related spending for the first half of 2019 in the coming weeks, when candidates file their next quarterly reports with the Federal Election Commission by July 15. But it's already clear who the top candidates and their parties are turning to the most.

Jones Day has been a go-to firm for President Donald Trump since the earliest days of his 2016 presidential campaign. In 2019 thus far, the Trump campaign has sent the firm more than $1.24 million. The RNC reported a $1,998,447.31 payment on April 2 alone, according to FEC data. The RNC has said the money covered billing dating back over the course of two years.

Later in April, rumors spread that Trump's reelection campaign was cutting ties with Jones Day, but the campaign shot down those rumors and said the firm would remain the campaign's principal outside counsel. The Trump campaign subsequently hired Nathan Groth, an associate at Michael Best & Friedrich as a vendor for the campaign.

Michael Best has also benefited from the GOP's bulging coffers and the churn of former RNC lawyers into the firm's ranks. The firm is home to former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, the former RNC chairman during Trump's 2016 election bid. Priebus' firm received $13,000 from the RNC in March, and collected nearly $40,000 from the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Convention in the first six months of 2019, according to FEC records.

Groth was previously counsel to the RNC's Site Selection Committee that selected and negotiated contracts with the host city—Charlotte, North Carolina—for the 2020 Republican National Convention, according to Michael Best's website.

Three other firms collected six-figure deposits from the RNC in the early months of 2019: Wiley Rein, which raked in more than $317,000; Snell & Wilmer, with $150,000; and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which nabbed $119,405.60.

The Trump campaign has spread the work around a bit as well, including more than $200,000 to Harder LLP, a litigation firm run by Charles Harder, and more than $30,000 to Winston & Strawn.

The 2020 legal business is far from exclusive to the right, as many of the large Democratic field's candidates have already linked up with major firms.

Covington & Burling revealed on Monday it would be legal counsel to former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign. Covington is not exclusively taking cash from Democratic campaigns, however, and has collected more than $117,000 from the National Republican Congressional Committee thus far in 2019.

Perkins Coie remains a go-to firm for Democratic candidates at all levels. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign sent the firm $80,000 this year, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker's reelection campaign to the Senate in 2020 shelled out more than $162,000, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's reelection campaign paid more than $28,000, and former Florida Sen. Bill Nelson paid $625,000 to Perkins Coie after losing reelection last November, according to FEC records.

The firm is also still the firm of choice for the party organization. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee shelled out more than $410,000 to Perkins Coie through May 2019, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee paid more than $1.7 million to Perkins Coie in the same time frame, and the Democratic National Committee pitched in more than $2.35 million. The DNC's four largest disbursements this year all went to Perkins Coie.

Jenner & Block has collected a comparatively modest $81,659.72 from Pete Buttigieg. But there will be plenty more where that came from if the South Bend, Indiana, mayor stays in the race.