According to data released by OpenSecrets, legal industry donations to the Trump campaign amount to a measly $52,398, a sum which pales in comparison to the $18.33 million raised from lawyers by likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders is also significantly trailing Ms Clinton in his popularity with lawyer donors – though by a far less dramatic margin – having secured just $1.68m in campaign donations from the legal sector so far. It is true that Democratic candidates tend to win stronger favour from the legal community than their Republican counterparts when it comes to campaign donations, but the size of the chasm between Ms Clinton and Mr Trump is striking. ‘Lawyers historically tilt Democratic, but these numbers are truly dramatic, and I am at a loss to fully explain them,’ said Skadden Arps Meagher Slate & Flom head of political law practice Kenneth Gross to The American Lawyer. And losing the support of lawyers is no small price to pay for any candidate – in 2012, the legal profession contributed $44.21m in total to presidential candidates, making it the single largest industry donor.
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