Wisconsin Republicans hire redistricting lawyers that could cost $1 million or more

MADISON - Republicans who control the Legislature have agreed to spend $1 million or more this year in anticipation of a legal fight over drawing new congressional and legislative maps.

Under one contract, Republicans agreed to have taxpayers pay a flat fee of $200,000 a month to a Washington-area law firm starting in July — or sooner if an expected lawsuit is filed before then. 

That contract and another one are the latest signs that the next round of redistricting is likely to be resolved in a courtroom. 

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu of Oostburg late last year agreed to hire two firms in anticipation of one or more lawsuits.

Aides to the two leaders did not respond to questions Monday. WisPolitics first reported on the contracts. 

Vos and LeMahieu agreed to have the state pay as much as $965,000 for the services of attorney Adam Mortara and Consovoy McCarthy, the boutique law firm that has represented former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee. 

Under that arrangement, the state began paying $30,000 a month starting in January to cover pre-litigation consulting. The monthly fee will jump to $200,000 a month in July or when a lawsuit is filed, whichever comes first. 

The contract is capped at $965,000 for work through a trial, provided the trial lasts 10 days or fewer. The contract covers legal fees but not other expenses, such as airfare and fees for expert witnesses, according to a copy of the contract obtained through the state's open records law. 

Taxpayers would have to pay additional sums for any appeals. Such costs are a near certainty given that both sides expect the next round of redistricting to get appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the U.S. Supreme Court or both. 

Under a separate contract, Vos and LeMahieu agreed to pay $375 an hour to former Deputy Attorney General Kevin St. John at the Madison firm Bell Giftos St. John. 

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has not hired any attorneys for the upcoming redistricting, according to his spokeswoman, Britt Cudaback.

Evers has set up a commission to propose maps that are drawn on a nonpartisan basis. Republicans have rejected that idea and said they will design their own maps. 

Evers' idea has been touted by the Fair Elections Project, which for years has pushed for drawing politically neutral maps. Sachin Chheda, the group's director, decried the legal contracts the Republicans have signed. 

“The purpose of redistricting is to make sure the maps fairly and accurately reflect voters’ intent in elections. This massive, unprecedented, corrupt, and shameful giveaway of taxpayer dollars is an attempt to rig the maps and subvert the will of the people," he said in an emailed statement.

Every 10 years states must draw new maps of legislative and congressional districts to account for population changes. How the maps are drawn can greatly influence which party has the upper hand in elections. 

After the 2010 census, Wisconsin Republicans were able to draw maps that benefited them because they controlled all of state government. Years of litigation followed, but little changed, with the courts modifying two Assembly districts on Milwaukee's south side but allowing the others to stand.

This time, officials are not expected to agree on maps because Evers is likely to oppose the ones drawn by Republicans who control the Legislature. That would leave it to courts to decide where the election lines should go. 

With a legal fight likely, Republicans hired the two firms. 

Both St. John and Mortara worked on the litigation over the last round of redistricting.

The contract with St. John is set up like most legal arrangements — with the state paying fees based on how many hours St. John and his colleagues work. By contrast, Mortara and Consovoy McCarthy are charging a flat monthly fee. 

During the last legal fight, Mortara was with the Chicago law firm Bartlit Beck, which is known for charging flat fees.

Mortara is on his own now, according to his LinkedIn profile, but for his representation of Wisconsin has teamed up with Consovoy McCarthy. Twenty percent of the fees the state pays will go to Mortara and 80% will go to the firm. 

Mortara and the firm did not immediately answer questions late Monday.

In 2019, the Legislature hired Consovoy McCarthy to represent it in a lawsuit brought by Planned Parenthood challenging the state's abortion laws. The firm has had little involvement in the case so far because a federal judge determined Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, not lawyers for lawmakers, should defend the state. A decision in that case is pending.

In litigation over Wisconsin's elections last year, attorneys with Consovoy represented the Republican National Committee and the state Republican Party. The firm has also represented Trump in a dispute over his financial records.

Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.