DC Dicta asks: Where will Edwards’ trial lawyer backers go?
Former Sen. John Edwards has ended his bid for the Democratic nomination today after failing to win a single early primary race (ABC News).
Edwards, a former trial attorney, had strong financial support among lawyers nationwide.
So DC Dicta poses this question to you: which remaining Democratic candidate do you think will become the new trial attorneys’ darling: Illinois Sen. Barack Obama or New York Sen. Hillary Clinton?
Give us your two cents in the comments section below.
Meanwhile, the WSJ’s Law Blog has been keeping track of the JDs remaining in the presidential race.
There were eight to start. But then Sens. Chris Dodd (Louisville Law) and Joe Biden (Syracuse Law) dropped out early. Then former Sen. Fred Thompson (Vanderbilt Law) threw in the towel, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (NYU Law) and Edwards (UNC Law) will reportedly do the same today.
So now three remain: Sens. Obama (Harvard Law) and Clinton (Yale Law), and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (Harvard Law).
As I am not a plaintiff’s attorney (even though I have had a plaintiff’s victory or two) I cannot speak definitively. But, John was pushing for aggressive defense of consumers and others wrongfully injured by large business. On that angle alone, I have to believe the Clinton roster of big business friends will hold her back from any meaningful changes in this area.
Barack has the luxury of choosing his dates at a new dance, as he hasn’t been sleeping around for that long. Therefore, I would believe he is a much better play for consumer attorneys.
I also think many of us cannot stomach the idea of another 4 years of squabbling and heckling on the same old Clinton spin/targets. At least with Barack, the muckrakers will have to come up with some new material ……
I found via Overlawyered that the Washington Post has a story on that very issue: “Aides to candidates Clinton and Obama feverishly work an AAJ/ATLA trial lawyers’ conclave down Puerto Rico way, sensing that the money behind the flagging John Edwards candidacy may be ‘looking for a new candidate to get behind.’”