DC Bar Overwhelmingly Chooses Veteran Member Over Bondi (2)

The brother of Attorney General Pam Bondi was overwhelmingly defeated in his bid to lead the DC bar association, after an unusually rancorous campaign revolving around speculation he would interfere with disciplinary proceedings against allies of President Donald Trump.

Group board member Diane Seltzer received more than 34,000 votes compared to 3,490 for Brad Bondi, the bar announced Monday. Brad Bondi, a securities lawyer at Paul Hastings, drove turnout as attorneys worried he would interfere with disciplinary proceedings to benefit Trump.

“They didn’t particularly take to a guy who essentially disrespected the Bar by diminishing its concerns,” said George Conway, a prominent Republican lawyer and Trump critic who backed Seltzer. Bondi “took those concerns about attacks on lawyers and attacks on the rule of law and just dismissed them.”

The contentious race for the three-year term was unusual for the professional association of the 120,000 lawyers licensed to practice in Washington. The bar’s chief executive officer Robert Spagnoletti described the voter engagement as “extraordinary” at a briefing on Monday. More than 38,000 votes were cast starting April 15.

“I trusted that our members would elect a president-elect who they know will be fierce for them,” Seltzer said in a statement, “and hear them with respect to the issues that matter.”

Bondi, the co-chair of Paul Hastings’ investigations and white collar defense practice, said in a statement that he was “disgusted by how rabid partisans lurched this election” into the gutter. “The bar may never recover from this politicization—a tragedy that would erode its ability to serve as a home for all members.”

While Pam Bondi, the former top government lawyer in Florida, became the 87th US attorney general under Trump, Brad Bondi has his own ties to the president. He was part of a team that represented a blank-check company as it combined with Trump Media & Technology Group Corp., which operates Trump’s Truth Social media platform.

Brad Bondi also advised Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. in matters before the Securities and Exchange Commission. He was recently hired by YouTube personality “MrBeast” Jimmy Donaldson and a group of investors for legal advice on a bid to buy TikTok Inc.

Seltzer, an employment lawyer, has been volunteering for the DC Bar for more than two decades and spent the past five years on the board. She faulted Bondi’s lack of leadership experience at the organization.

The new president will serve a three-year tenure replacing Shaun Snyder, the current bar president and the CEO of the National Association of State Treasurers. Presidents preside over board meetings and attend committee meetings. They typically craft their own agendas during their term.