President Obama doesn’t accept campaign donations from registered lobbyists, but employees of law firms and lobby shops still make up some of his top funding sources.
Six of the president’s 20 biggest sources of campaign donations were law firms that lobby for huge companies such as Google and MasterCard. Obama received more money from lawyers and others at law firms than any other presidential candidate last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
From Bloomberg:
The president raised $5.7 million from those working for law and lobby firms, more than half of the $10.3 million in donations those employees made to the presidential candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Obama’s second largest source of campaign donations came from employees working for DLA Piper (1191L) and their families, who have given a total of $151,375. DLA Piper last year was paid $8.2 million by such clients as Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) and Raytheon Co. (RTN)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, whose employees contributed $100,324 and ranks as Obama’s eighth-biggest source of donations, counts EBay Inc. (EBAY) and the U.S. Steel Corp. among its clients, which paid the firm a total of $1.1 million last year. Mayer Brown LL (1120L)P, whose employees contributed $67,407, was paid $4 million to lobby by such clients as JPMorgan Chase & Co. and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.