Tracking the Trial Bar's Impact in '08

In the presidential primary, the impact of the trial bar may be significant, to say the least. Consider that almost two thirds of John Edwards $7.4 million 2003 first-quarter contributions came from trial lawyers, their families and staffs.

Obama Makes Inroads Into Edwards' Trial Lawyer Base
from LAW.COM
Anna Palmer
Legal Times
April 9, 2007

This time around, John Edwards can't take anything for granted. This time, even his blood brothers aren't necessarily on board.

For years Edwards has relied on the support of his fellow trial lawyers' deep pockets to help get him elected -- first to the Senate and then three years ago, when he made a run at the White House and then became running mate to Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who won the Democratic nomination. But as Edwards mounts his second presidential bid, he has struggled to attract plaintiffs lawyers beyond his stable of longtime donors, just as other Democratic candidates, such as Sens. Hillary Clinton from New York, Barack Obama from Illinois, and Joseph Biden Jr. from Delaware, have been actively wooing the plaintiffs bar . . .