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Lawyering Up
It’s no surprise that Martha Coakley has raised much of her money for her US Senate campaign from lawyers — that has been her professional and social circle for pretty much her entire adult life.

It’s no surprise that Martha Coakley has raised much of her money for her US Senate campaign from lawyers — that has been her professional and social circle for pretty much her entire adult life. So, we won’t feign shock at the long list of attorneys in private practice, prosecutors’ offices, academia, the corporate world, and lobbying firms that populate Coakley’s campaign-finance report.

What we will do is take a peek at which big Massachusetts law firms have been the most helpful to Coakley’s cause. After all, these firms are known to be mighty competitive. So which one now owns the biggest piece of the potential senator?

The winner, by Boston Phoenix count (using the required employment identification on federal campaign-finance reports), is Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr (WilmerHale). We found more than $100,000 worth of contributions from that one firm — particularly striking, given that its attorneys have rarely ponied up for Coakley before. A search of the state database found only 20 previous contributions, totaling $6300.

Next comes Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky & Popeo, whose attorneys are typically more active in funding state Democrats — including Coakley. That includes the firm’s chairman, Robert Popeo, who has contributed to her annually. Former AG Francis X. Bellotti, who is of counsel at Mintz Levin, is also a long-time Coakley supporter — in fact, he tells the Phoenix he committed to supporting her eight months ago, well before Ted Kennedy passed away. The third-biggest giver is Goodwin Procter, where Coakley once worked.

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