NY AG Took Money from Law Firms Representing Targets of His Office
Law firms representing clients targeted by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo donated tens of thousands of dollars to his campaign fund, a published report says.
Contributors included Boies Schiller & Flexner, which gave $35,000 to Cuomo’s campaign this year, Bloomberg reports. The firm represents Hank Greenberg, the former CEO of American International Group, in a civil fraud suit by the attorney general’s office, according to the story.
Cuomo is said to be planning a run for governor. A Nov. 18 lawyers breakfast for Cuomo attracted about 200 contributors. Sponsoring law firms included Sullivan & Cromwell and Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.
The story identifies these law firms and lawyers as contributors to Cuomo:
• Kramer Levin & Frankel gave money to Cuomo in 2005 and 2006, and at least 21 Kramer Levin partners gave Cuomo amounts of $100 to $500 each on June 3. The firm represents former New York Liberal Party chairman Raymond Harding, who pleaded guilty in an investment fund kickback probe and is cooperating with Cuomo. Contributions “are not intended to have any impact whatsoever on client matters involving regulatory bodies,” said Kramer Levin managing partner Paul Pearlman.
• Featherstonhaugh Wiley & Clyne gave Cuomo $18,000 in 2008 and 2009. The law firm represented Dell in a suit that accused it of deceptive advertising. Cuomo announced a settlement in September. Name partner James Featherstonhaugh said he has known Cuomo since he was 20, and he lost in another lawsuit involving Cuomo.
• Morgan Lewis & Bockius donated $2,500 to Cuomo on Dec. 15. It represented Deutsche Bank in an August $15 million settlement of a probe involving ratings of auction-rate securities.
• Mayer Brown donated $2,000 to Cuomo on May 4. It represented TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. in an agreement to buy back auction-rate securities in the Cuomo probe.
• O’Melveny & Meyers gave Cuomo $7,500 in 2006 through a political action committee. It represented Coventry First in a $10.5 million settlement filed by Cuomo’s predecessor. Law firm chairman Arthur Culvahouse Jr. said O’Melveny would not contribute to a candidate if it believed it would influence decision-making.
“We do not think that the attorney general of New York would make it any easier for lawyers or cut any slack for their clients because of the lawyers’ prior campaign contributions,” Culvahouse told Bloomberg.
Richard Bamberger, a Cuomo spokesman, told Bloomberg in an e-mail that Cuomo’s policies satisfy ethical guidelines for lawyers. “Candidates in New York State for district attorney, judge, attorneys general, and all other offices have operated under the very same rules for decades,” Bamberger said.
