Harold Nix has made lots of friends with his wallet. In 2004 alone, he and his firm contributed $346,000, almost all to state and national Democrats, including U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
The $3.3 billion in legal fees that Nix and the other Tobacco Five members received from the state's tobacco settlement has been the gift that keeps on giving for liberal politicians.
In one year following the settlement, Nix and his fellow Tobacco Five members accounted for 76 percent of all funds raised by the Texas Democratic Party.
Friends of Mark Lanier
It would be tough to convince Hillary Clinton and John Sharp that Mark Lanier is the conservative Republican he claims to be, as they have shared in his largesse.
Lanier told Texas Lawyer that he gave $1,000 to Mrs. Clinton so he could have a face-to-face meeting in the hopes of changing her way of thinking.
We are still waiting for Clinton to announce that Lanier persuaded her to be pro-life.
Friends of Richard Mithoff
Sheila Jackson Lee and Nick Lampson are just two of the liberal Democrats funded by Mithoff.
Mithoff assisted in the tobacco litigation, but was not a member of the Tobacco Five.
His law partner Tommy Jacks is also a prolific donor primarily to Democrats, having given thousands to Ron Kirk, John Edwards, Barrack Obama, and Joe Biden.
Harold Nix, Nix, Patterson & Roach
Harold Nix, our third Tobacco Five member chronicled in this report, and his firm give nearly $1 million to Democrat Party organizations and candidates every year. Nix also spent tens of thousands to defeat Proposition 12 in 2003, which capped non-compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases.
Most recently, he has lavished thousands on Republican U.S. Senators John McCain, Lindsay Graham, and Orrin Hatch, although he has given many times more to liberal Democrats like John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Harry Reid, Joe Biden, John Edwards, and Martin Frost.
Most recently, Nix sent $1,000 to support the failed candidacy of Republican trial lawyer Brian Keith Walker.
Mark Lanier, Lanier Law Firm [SPECIAL SHARK]
A shark who is in his own category is Houston plaintiff lawyer Mark Lanier and his Lanier Law Firm. Unlike the others listed above, Lanier has given most of his contributions to Republicans and attempts to present himself as a social conservative.
He has given thousands to the Harris County Republican Party. Yet, Lanier has also given thousands to high-profile Democrats like Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and John Sharp. Lanier has also bankrolled the candidacies of Regina Montoya-Coggins, the failed pro-abortion Democrat challenger to pro-life, conservative Republican Congressman Pete Sessions, and Charles “Lefty” Morris, the failed Democrat opponent of pro-life, pro-Constitution Republican Congressman Ron Paul.
Lanier, whose has most recently gained notoriety in the Vioxx litigation, sponsors a holiday party every year at his Northwest Houston estate, which is attended by numerous Republican judges and has featured entertainers such as Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, and Bill Cosby. One of Lanier’s tips for fellow plaintiff lawyers is to “keep accountants and engineers off the jury” because they tend to be more rational than emotional.
Rep. Bryan Hughes is an attorney at the Lanier Law Firm.
Richard Mithoff, Mithoff & Jacks
Richard Mithoff, hired by Morales as a lawyer in the state’s tobacco case, but not one of the Tobacco Five, has given tens of thousands to liberal Democrats like John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Emily’s List (supporting pro-abortion Democrat women candidates), Sheila Jackson Lee, Nick Lampson, Barbara Ann Radnofsky, Rodney Ellis, John Whitmire, and Garnet Coleman.
However, Mithoff has also pumped $10,000 each to Carole Strayhorn and David Dewhurst and $5,000 to Elizabeth Ray for the Texas Supreme Court, the plaintiff lawyer-backed candidate who lost to Justice Dale Wainwright in the primary.
