Faegre gives to House Republicans — and DFLers
Jul 10th, 2009 by Mark Cohen
We were interested to see that when Politics in Minnesota posted its list of the top contributors to the DFL and Republican House caucuses, Faegre & Benson’s PAC, with a contribution, of $25,000 was listed as tied for the #2 spot on the Republican list.
The firm’s PAC also donated $34,500 to the Dems, but that only got them to #13 on the DFL top contributor list, according to PIM’s Steve Perry. DFL chairman Brian Melendez is a principal at Faegre, so maybe that has something to do with the Dems getting a little more love from Faegre. On the other hand, conservative blogger/attorney John Hinderaker also is a principal at Faegre, so there goes that theory.
Earlier this year, Faegre laid off about 30 associates due to the bad economy, which has caused transactional work to dry up all over. The amount that the firm spent on political contributions would have paid for half of a first-year associate, but then again, what would one do with half a first-year associate?
By the way, the top individual contributor to the DFL House Caucus was an attorney — Vance Opperman — who gave $56,500. St. Paul attorney Jeffrey Anderson gave $25,000 to the DFL House Caucus, placing him third on that list. None of the top individual contributors to the House Republican Caucus was an attorney.
Shameful, especially if they continue to fire attorneys or lower salaries. Faegre really took a hit when they fired so many attorneys.
MN Lawyer should write something about Vance Opperman joining the TCF Board. That’s an interesting development I think, given TCF Chairman Bill Cooper’s leading role in state Republican politics, but perhaps it is recognition that the banks are heavily regulated (more than ever) and a DFL-connected insider is pretty useful for a bank board.
I know Cooper announced publicly he was unhappy with how they were tricked into TARP.
I think TCF also recently moved themselves to South Dakota, although I believe they said publicly it was not out of fear of DFL spending in St. Paul [hmmm].
####
TCF’s Board of Directors Elect Vance Opperman to Board Membership
WAYZATA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 29, 2009– The Board of Directors of TCF Financial Corporation (TCF) (NYSE: TCB) today announced the election of Vance K. Opperman to the TCF Board of Directors, effective June 29, 2009.
Mr. Opperman is President and Chief Executive Officer of Key Investment, Inc., a private investment company based in Minneapolis. Previously, Mr. Opperman was President of West Publishing Company until the business was sold to Thomson Corporation of Canada in 1996. Prior to his career at West Publishing Company, Mr. Opperman spent 15 years as the founder and former senior partner of Opperman and Paquin. Mr. Opperman currently serves on the board of Thomson Reuters Corporation as well as other educational and not-for-profit organizations.
“It is an honor to welcome Vance Opperman to TCF’s Board of Directors. Vance brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in law and financial services to the Board, and his passion for community service is unprecedented and commendable,” said William A. Cooper, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to his guidance and counsel.”
TCF is a Wayzata, Minnesota-based national financial holding company with $18.1 billion in total assets. TCF has 449 banking offices in Minnesota, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin, Indiana, Arizona and South Dakota, providing retail and commercial banking services. TCF also conducts commercial leasing and equipment finance business in all 50 states and commercial inventory finance business in the U.S. and Canada. For more information about TCF, please visit http://www.tcfbank.com.
Source: TCF Financial Corporation
It’s just good business to play both sides of the fence. Besides, Faegre can just push more work on their contract lawyer army on the cheap now