Trial lawyers hire Helms strategist (or hell freezes over)

The trial lawyers have hired Carter Wrenn, the long-time political strategist for former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms, to help them with the new GOP legislature.

The trial lawyers, now known as the N.C. Advocates for Justice, have long been closely aligned with the Democrats. But with the Republicans taking control of the legislature, the trial lawyers have been seeking to adopt to their new political political environment.

“We have been traditionally been connected with the Democratic leadership of the legislature,” said Dick Taylor, the the CEO of the NC Advocates for Justice. “But the new reality is we want the smartest, most effective thinkers about the Republican majority and what sort of messaging would appeal to them.”

Wrenn, who most recently was the strategist for Tea Party-supported candidate Renee Ellmers (who defeated Democratic Rep. Bob Etheridge), will help the trial lawyers with strategy. The trial lawyers also recently announced they were hiring former Raleigh City Councilman Philip Isley a Republican, to lobby for them.

They are also retaining their Democratic lobbyists, Paul Pulley and Randolph Cloud.