Updated Feb. 2 at 11:13 a.m.
A couple George Washington University Law School professors and nine lawyers who work at law firms in D.C. and live in the area each secured at least $50,000 in 2011 for President Barack Obama's reelection bid, according to a list of major fundraisers, known as bundlers, the Obama campaign released Tuesday.
Of the 11 lawyers, only GW law professors Spencer Overton and Alfreda Robinson each raised more than $500,000 for Obama. Overton, a former principal deputy assistant attorney general at the U.S. Justice Department Office of Legal Policy during the Obama administration, is married to DOJ Antitrust Division special adviser Leslie Overton, who is in contention to lead the component. Robinson is a former senior trial counsel and trial attorney for the DOJ Civil Division.
Spencer Overton also bundled a half-million dollars for Obama's 2008 campaign.
Overton directed questions to Obama campaign staffer Eric Feigenbaum, who referred the inquiries to the campaign's press office. The press team didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Robinson couldn't be reached for an immediate comment.
Most of the lawyers brought in between $50,000 and $200,000 for the president. But Winston & Strawn partner Timothy Broas, an Obama appointee to the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, secured between $200,000 and $500,000.
Many of the lawyers made Obama’s bundlers list during the third quarter of 2011. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner Jonathan Cedarbaum, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton partner Keith Harper and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy managing partner Glenn Gerstell are new.
Cedarbaum was an acting leader of the DOJ Office of Legal Counsel during the Obama administration. Harper, who represented the plaintiffs in the American Indian trust funds lawsuit, Cobell v. Salazar, is a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. Gertsell is an Obama appointee to the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
In all, the lawyers filled Obama’s coffers with at least $1.8 million last year. The president and the Democratic National Committee have collected more than $220 million so far.
| Lawyer | Employer | 2011 Bundling |
| Alfreda Robinson | George Washington University Law School | $500,000+ |
| Spencer Overton | George Washington University Law School | $500,000+ |
| Tim Broas | Winston & Strawn | $200,000-$500,000 |
| John Aldock | Goodwin Procter | $100,000-$200,000 |
| Shaunda Patterson-Strachan | Jorden Burt | $100,000-$200,000 |
| John Phillips | Phillips & Cohen | $100,000-$200,000 |
| Jonathan Cedarbaum | Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr | $100,000-$200,000 |
| Keith Harper | Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton | $50,000-$100,000 |
| Glenn Gerstell | Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy | $50,000-$100,000 |
| Orlan Johnson | Saul Ewing | $50,000-$100,000 |
| Joseph Andrew | SNR Denton | $50,000-$100,000 |
Presidential candidates aren’t required to disclose non-lobbyist bundlers. Obama, who prohibits registered lobbyists from making donations to his campaign and bundling for him, is the only presidential candidate who releases the names of major non-lobbyist fundraisers.
In 2011 fourth quarter filings, Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich didn’t list any lobbyist bundlers, but challenger Mitt Romney revealed that he had more than a dozen.
Of the Romney bundlers, three work at law firms in D.C. They are Dow Lohnes member Ralph Hardy Jr., who raised $19,000 in 2011, as well as DLA Piper partners Ignacio Sanchez, who bundled $86,700, and Thomas Boyd, who secured $26,350.
Romney reported receiving $56.3 million in campaign donations last year.
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