America’s Uneven Lawfare Economy: One side hires lawyers; the other side manufactures them.
When conservatives talk about “dark money,” they mean Arabella Advisors—the billion-dollar concierge service that built a permanent legal ecosystem for the Left.
When progressives talk about “conservative influence,” they mean Leonard Leo’s 85 Fund—a grant-making shop famous for judges, not field ops.
Both move money through nonprofits.
Only one moves policy through courtrooms, agencies, and manuals year-round.
How Arabella Became the Lawfare Supply Chain
Four funds—Sixteen Thirty, New Venture, Hopewell, and Windward—sit under Arabella’s corporate umbrella.
Together they raised $635 million in 2018 alone and have sustained nine-figure budgets every year since.
They don’t merely bankroll cases; they retain capacity: full-time attorneys, in-house compliance teams, communications staff, and research analysts.
From those desks came the infrastructure described in The Ballot Wars:
- Elias Law Group for litigation,
- America Votes for coordination,
- Chorus for digital messaging.
It’s vertical integration—lawfare as industry, not boutique.
The Leo Network by Contrast
Leonard Leo’s 85 Fund and Honest Elections Project manage real money—roughly $65 million raised in 2020—but most of it passes through as grants.
Think “venture capital for advocacy” rather than operations.
The network excels at judicial appointments, where one win (a judge) yields decades of return.
But litigation infrastructure—the boring, procedural grind of filing, discovery, and consent decrees—requires payroll, not philanthropy.
That’s where Arabella’s edge compounds.
Permanent vs. Periodic Capital
Arabella capitalizes for continuity: multi-year donor commitments, internal endowments, and fiscal-sponsorship pipelines that keep staff between cycles.
The 85 Fund capitalizes for projects: short-term grants to outside groups, little retained expertise.
Outcome:
- Left lawyers work twelve months a year; Right lawyers bill only when funded.
- Left litigation files first; Right litigation responds.
- Left wins incrementally; Right celebrates episodically.
The Asymmetry in Action
When Georgia’s SB 202 passed, Arabella affiliates had briefs ready within hours.
When Arizona’s EPM litigation opened, Elias attorneys filed three parallel suits in three jurisdictions.
The 85 Fund meanwhile funded an amicus and a PR campaign six months later.
Timing is infrastructure.
If your lawyers start work after the filing deadline, you’re doing charity, not lawfare.
What a Right-Side Factory Would Need
- Endowment model—fund staff positions, not just grants.
- Legal cadence calendar—track rulemakings and EPM drafts before they finalize.
- Process analytics—database of filings, judges, and outcomes for pattern detection.
- Training pipeline—turn conservative law students into procedural operators, not just philosophers.
- Narrative integration—pair wins with digital campaigns the same day.
Without those, the Right remains a lender in a world that rewards builders.
Why the Disparity Persists
Philosophy.
Conservatives instinctively decentralize; progressives instinctively institutionalize.
The Left sees lawfare as governance by other means; the Right sees it as an annoyance between elections.
Until that mental model flips, budget lines won’t.
Citations
Axios – “Scoop: Leo Reviews Grants After $1.6B Donation” (Sep 2024)
Insurrection Barbie – “The 2026 Ballot Wars” (Oct 2025)
OpenSecrets – “Sixteen Thirty Fund Financial Profile” (2025)
NBC News – “Left-Leaning Nonprofit Poured $196 Million Into Politics in 2022” (Nov 2023)
Monitoring Influence – “The 85 Fund and Honest Elections Project Overview” (2024)