Big law firms give big money for judge races

ALBANY – The road to a Capital Region judgeship is paved in money from fellow lawyers.In the last 10 years, some of the Albany area's largest law firms have pumped tens of thousands of dollars into judicial campaigns for town justice, city and county benches and state Supreme Court, where some candidates served on the powerful Appellate Division.Given the above-board nature of their job, which requires impartiality and objectivity, judicial candidates cannot ask donors for a cent of campai