The Work
November 4, 2010 3:05 PM
Recount Redux: Firms Prep for Post-Election Work
Posted by Brian Baxter
UPDATE: 11/5/10, 11:30 a.m. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski has hired Patton Boggs's Benjamin Ginsberg for her write-in campaign, according to The National Law Journal, a sibling publication. Murkowski's bid for reelection hinges on 83,000 write-in ballots, the Anchorage Daily News reports.
When the Sunshine State's gubernatorial race approached recount territory early Wednesday morning, local Democrats approached Marc Elias, head of Perkins Coie's political law practice and general counsel to the Kerry-Edwards 2004 presidential campaign, for help. The request might have been premature. Later that day, Democrat Alex Sink conceded to Republican Rick Scott, himself a lawyer.
Elias is a known entity when it comes to recounts. He represented Minnesota Sen. Al Franken in his successful recount campaign against Republican incumbent Norm Coleman last year. And right now, the North Star State is the scene of another tight race suddenly loaded with election lawyers.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton holds a razor-thin margin of victory over Republican Tom Emmer. The Pioneer Press reports that about 8,000 votes separate the candidates (2.1 million votes were cast in Tuesday's election).
Minnesota GOP officials told the St. Paul Business Journal that the party has hired Michael Toner, head of Bryan Cave's election law and government ethics practice, to handle a potential recount. Elias told the SPBJ that he doesn't plan on returning to Minnesota for another round of recount action; he didn't say whether or not he'd been asked to do so.
David Lillehaug, a partner at Minneapolis firm Fredrikson & Byron who served as local counsel to Franken on the recount for his Senate seat, is reportedly advising Dayton along with Michael Rothman of Winthrop & Weinstine. (The SPBJ reports that both lawyers are working with Dayton's campaign counsel, Charles Nauen of Minneapolis-based Lockridge Grindal Nauen.)
So how much do recounts cost? A lot.
A new book by Jay Weiner, who covered the Franken/Coleman recount battle, estimates that the final tab was roughly $20 million. Roughly half that amount came from legal fees: $5.7 million for Franken and $4.4 million for Coleman. (Patton Boggs partner Benjamin Ginsberg--national counsel to the Bush-Cheney campaigns in 2000 and 2004--advised Coleman along with a team of local Minnesota lawyers. Ginsberg recently shared some advice on handling recounts with The Hill.)
Weiner recently appeared at a seminar in Seattle with Perkins Coie litigation partner Kevin Hamilton, who also worked for the Franken campaign. Weiner told the gathering the Franken/Coleman fight was the most expensive recount in American history, according to a story covering the event in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Hamilton, who has handled recounts for Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire and Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell, told the seminar that a huge team of lawyers worked for Franken, with one attorney being present at every counting center in Minnesota.
Back in Florida, the work of the transition now falls to Williams & Connolly litigation partner Enu Mainigi, who will lead a team put together by governor-elect Scott.
Elias didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
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