Democrat Elections Lawyer Elias Leaves Perkins Coie, Starts Firm

Marc Elias, a voting rights lawyer who has represented the Democratic National Committee and lead Biden campaign efforts to combat legal challenges to the 2020 presidential election is leaving Perkins Coie to launch his own firm.

Elias is taking 13 lawyers, including 10 partners, with him from Perkins Coie, according to a statement released by the massive law firm Sunday. The move will allow the new Elias Law Group to “engage more directly in the political and electoral process,” Perkins Coie said in the statement.

Elias— who was general counsel for the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign—led the Biden campaign’s legal fight against efforts to throw out ballots and overturn election results in a number of states by Trump supporters in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. He has since turned his attention to Republican efforts to tighten voting requirements in states like Georgia, Texas and Arizona.

He said in Tweet Sunday that he was starting the new firm “because our democracy is at risk and it is the most effective way for me to fight back.”

Seattle-founded Perkins Coie is among the country’s 50 largest law firms, reporting more than $1 billion in global revenue last year. Its clients have included Microsoft, Amazon.com Inc., Google, Starbucks, Tyson Foods, and Intel Corp. Under Elias, the firm has also represented a wide range of Democrats in Congress, as well as party leadership organizations.

Perkins Coie will continue to operate its corporate political activities practice, led by partner Rebecca Gordon. It will also work with the Elias group on voting rights litigation and other matters, the firm said.