LAWYER on FEC filings: $59.1M, not the ATTORNEY row

The other legal-title pile

ATTORNEY is the larger sibling row. LAWYER is the smaller one. FEC software does not treat them as one occupation. The $59.1M figure is only LAWYER. Adding the two in a notebook is optional research; it is not how this page was built.

People who typed a partnership, a city law department, or GENERAL COUNSEL are in other rows. NAICS 5411 is not applied.

4,023 donors versus ATTORNEY's much larger list

4,023 donors produced 135,561 LAWYER contribution lines totaling $59.1M. ATTORNEY has a much larger donor count on that other page. The gap is a wording gap as much as a headcount gap: many licensed lawyers never type LAWYER on the form.

Party share is not on this industry headline. Firm PACs are committees, not this individual-label rollup.

Firm names still win many receipts

When employer is a named firm and occupation is LAWYER, harvest grouping may send the line to the firm. Occupation pages are the place to see that split. This industry total does not claim every practicing lawyer.

Do not treat $59.1M as 'the bar's political budget.' It is one string. American English treats lawyer and attorney as synonyms. FEC storage does not. The $59.1M total is 4,023 donors and 135,561 lines tagged LAWYER. ATTORNEY is a different spelling with a different total. Firm names remain a third exit from both title rows.

Donor table

The LAWYER donor table lists disclosed names and amounts. A large gift is a public contribution. It is not evidence about a case or a client. LobbyVault does not infer motive from the title.

Common surnames collide. Match on committee and date. A paper that wants practicing-lawyer money must recode ATTORNEY plus LAWYER plus partnerships and say so. This page will not pretend $59.1M is that recode. It is the LAWYER string from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

Source

FEC.gov via LobbyVault: $59.1M, 135,561 contributions, 4,023 donors, top employer LAWYER. Unitemized and non-federal activity are omitted.

Follow recipient committees from the table. In-house titles such as GENERAL COUNSEL, if typed, are other keys. Occupation pages show LAWYER as occupation with a corporate employer; harvest may prefer the corporation.

Why the smaller legal-title row still exists

LAWYER exists because filers typed it. The $59.1M total, 135,561 contribution lines, and 4,023 donors are not a subset extracted from ATTORNEY; they are a different string. Adding the two still misses firm names. Unitemized gifts, state races, and law-firm PACs are omitted. LobbyVault does not recode synonyms.

Occupation pages show LAWYER as occupation with a partnership employer — those lines may harvest to the firm. Open the LAWYER donor table for names and committees. The title is self-reported FEC text, not NAICS 5411, from FEC.gov via LobbyVault. ATTORNEY remains the larger sibling page. Law-firm PACs stay on committee schedules. Individual LAWYER-string receipts can support those committees without being PAC spending. Keep $59.1M labeled as the individual-title total, not NAICS 5411. Do not report $59.1M as the legal profession. Report it as LAWYER: 4,023 donors and 135,561 lines. ATTORNEY is the larger spelling, with its own donor count and dollar total. Partnerships and GENERAL COUNSEL are additional exits. A practicing-lawyer recode must list those keys and say so. In-house counsel who typed a corporation usually left this title row; occupation pages are the recovery path. Law-firm PACs remain committees. Unitemized gifts and state races are omitted. Cite $59.1M as the LAWYER string from FEC.gov via LobbyVault, not NAICS 5411 and not a bar-census total. Synonym collapse would erase the reason this page exists. LAWYER is $59.1M, 4,023 donors, 135,561 lines. ATTORNEY is the ATTORNEY total and a separate donor count donors. Partnerships and GENERAL COUNSEL are additional exits from both title rows. In-house counsel who typed a corporation usually left; occupation pages are the recovery path. Law-firm PACs remain committees. Unitemized gifts stay out. Cite LAWYER from FEC.gov via LobbyVault, not the bar as a whole and not NAICS 5411. A partnership named on the employer line usually leaves the 4,023 LAWYER donors. ATTORNEY at the ATTORNEY total is the other title. $59.1M stays on LAWYER as typed. FEC.gov via LobbyVault does not synonymize the two.

Questions

How much have LAWYER donors given federally?

LobbyVault attributes $59.1M to the LAWYER FEC string, from 135,561 contributions and 4,023 donors. ATTORNEY is a separate, larger row. Neither is a NAICS legal-services total. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.

Why is ATTORNEY so much larger than LAWYER?

Because filers type different words. ATTORNEY has a separate donor count donors on its page; LAWYER has 4,023. LobbyVault does not recode one into the other. The $59.1M figure is only LAWYER. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.

Does this include law-firm PACs?

No. This page is itemized individual receipts grouped under LAWYER. Committee PACs are other FEC schedules. Firm-name employers are other industry keys. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.

How many unique LAWYER donors are listed?

The rollup counts 4,023 donors and 135,561 contribution lines. Repeat gifts raise the receipt count. This is not a count of all licensed lawyers. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.