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Political Contributions
Feet in Both Camps
Nationally, most campaign contributions from lawyers go to Democrats. Florida's law firms bucked that trend last year.
Case in point: John Morgan, managing partner at Morgan and Morgan, has been a Democratic power player for years and was a national finance chairman for the 1996 Clinton-Gore campaign. He was also a UF law school buddy of Jim Davis. But he raised money for Crist in the primary to defeat GOP opponent Tom Gallagher, who picked up Jeb Bush's mantle in stumping for tort reform.
Morgan says putting Kottkamp on the ticket sealed his support. "I'm a Democrat through and through," Morgan says, "but I don't think it's healthy for trial lawyers to be the wholly owned subsidiary of the Florida Democratic Party or the National Democratic Party."
Another lifelong Democrat, former American Bar Association President Martha Barnett of Holland & Knight, took heat from some fellow lawyers for her role in an e-mail from former Bar presidents to members urging support for Crist. Barnett says while she "may be more aligned on the issues with Jim Davis," her decision to support Crist was based on personal admiration. "I've watched him for a decade, and I believe he's open-minded. He grows. He listens. And he wants to do what's right," Barnett says.
As for tort reform, it's unlikely Florida's new governor would veto a reform bill presented by the Legislature. But it's safe to say Crist wouldn't push it as strongly as his predecessor.
