Previously, OKPNS reported that the Poultry Industry called into question the use of private law firms on a contigency-fee basis for the state of Oklahoma in Attorney General Drew Edmondson’s case against several Arkansas poultry companies, which may not be in the best interest of Oklahomans

A motion was filed last year by Tyson foods, saying, such a practice “violates both the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions:”

The Contingency Fee Contract transgresses due process under both the U.S. and Oklahoma constitutions because it inextricably commingles use of the State’s power by private attorneys with an executory obligation on the part of the State to provide these attorneys with massive private profit that varies depending on the results of the litigation.

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Moreover, because the Contract commits a large percentage of any damages the State may recover to the State Contingency Lawyers in the absence of a specific legislative authorization, the Attorney General has violated the separation-of-powers provisions of the Oklahoma Constitution…

Also, we reported that there is a trend nationwide and in Oklahoma, for private law firms to financially support the campaigns of only Democrat Attorney’s General.

Now, Legal Newsline has discovered that the major law firm on Drew Edmondson’s lawsuit against the poultry industry, Riggs Abney, has been one of Drew Edmondson’s “most faithful [campaign] contributors:”

The Tulsa firm’s first public connection with Edmondson, who has been Oklahoma’s AG since 1992, appeared in the late 1990s. Riggs Abney was one of several Oklahoma firms that worked with Edmondson on the state’s tobacco settlement, which landed Oklahoma’s private attorneys $250 million from the final settlement – and Riggs Abney $30 million.

In the years since then, AG Edmondson and the Oklahoma Democratic Party have counted Riggs Abney as amongst their most faithful contributors. In the years 2001-2004, one researcher discovered, 15 attorneys at Riggs Abney donated almost $50,000 to Edmondson’s re-election campaigns.

Partners M. David Riggs and Mike Turpen were Edmondson’s largest individual donors within the firm, giving $8,600 and $8,100 respectively.