NEY YORK (Legal Newsline) - Even with the fallout from his "farmer" gaffe still haunting him, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, has committed to another speaking engagement with trial lawyers, this time in New York.
On March 25, American Rising PAC posted a video of the Braley, who is running for Senate, telling a group of trial lawyers at a Texas fundraiser in January he's "someone who's been fighting tort reform for 30 years" and needs their "help" to stop a "farmer" (Sen. Chuck Grassley) from becoming the next chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
A week later, Braley's comments are still garnering media attention, as news outlets from across the nation continue to examine the congressman's remarks and connections to trial lawyers.
In spite of the relentless media coverage, Braley has been announced as the keynote speaker for the New York State Trial Lawyer Association's signature annual event, Law Day.
A month from now, on May 1, Braley will address "hundreds" of New York trial lawyers and judges, according to the NYSTLA website.
NYSTLA did not return inquires as to why it selected Braley to be the event's keynote speaker.
Braley, a plaintiffs lawyer by trade and former head of the Iowa Trial Lawyers Association, is the only Democrat running for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Tom Harkin.
The Braley campaign also failed to return calls seeking the reason as to why he committed to the engagement.
However, statistics provided by the Center for Responsive Politics (opensecrets.org) can perhaps shine some light as to the reason why he would feel compelled to speak with as many trial lawyer associations as humanly possible.
Braley has received more than $1.1 million in campaign donations from lawyers and law firms, according to opensecrets.org.
From Legal Newsline: Reach David Yates at elections@legalnewsline.com
Braley to rub shoulders with New York trial lawyers
