Law Firm Received $33.5 Million From Secretive Nonprofits
Consovoy McCarthy accepted millions from organizations linked to Leonard Leo between 2016 and 2024.
Updated on Sept. 22, 2026 in Philanthropy
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Between 2016 and 2024, the law firm Consovoy McCarthy received over $33.5 million from nonprofit organizations with undisclosed donors. More than $29 million of these funds originated from entities associated with Leonard Leo.
Why it matters
The payments highlight the financial ties between influential conservative legal strategies and nonprofit groups that often back high-profile Supreme Court litigation.
Consovoy McCarthy received nearly $8.8 million from Students for Fair Admissions, $7.3 million from Speech First, and $5.65 million from the 85 Fund. Other major payments include $4 million from Defending Education and $1.4 million from Do No Harm.
The players
Consovoy McCarthy
This law firm was founded in 2014 and has been central to various high-profile legal challenges in the United States.
Leonard Leo
He is a prominent conservative activist who has been associated with several nonprofit organizations that provided funding to the firm.
Students for Fair Admissions
This organization was a significant client of the firm and played a major role in the litigation against race-conscious admissions.
Donald Trump
He is the current President of the United States who was represented by Consovoy McCarthy in the case Trump v. Mazars USA.
Clarence Thomas
He is a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States for whom six of the firm's 11 partners previously clerked.
The details
Founded in 2014, the firm has frequently engaged in high-stakes litigation, including representing Donald Trump in Trump v. Mazars USA. Six of the firm's 11 partners previously clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, underscoring the firm's deep connections to the federal judiciary.
Timeline
Consovoy McCarthy was founded in 2014.
The 85 Fund paid the firm $5.65 million between 2016 and 2023.
Speech First paid the law firm over $7.3 million between 2018 and 2024.
The Supreme Court ruled against race-conscious university admissions in 2023.
Market Landscape
The firm's financial reliance on nonprofit funding reflects a broader trend of utilizing donor-backed entities to underwrite strategic, long-term litigation campaigns. This positioning mirrors an ongoing competitive environment where specialized law firms capture significant market share by aligning with specific ideological advocacy organizations.
Average citizens may notice the impacts of this litigation in major shifts to public policies, such as the 2023 changes to university admissions standards. These funding patterns reveal how institutional donors influence the legal battles that shape everyday societal regulations and civil rights.
The takeaway
The deep financial integration between specific nonprofit networks and legal firms suggests that major shifts in law are often supported by concentrated, private capital. Readers should consider how donor-driven funding models may influence the selection and duration of significant legal challenges.
Further reading
For more information on legal and nonprofit financial structures, visit the Philanthropy section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by International Business Times UK.
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