Lawyer James Bopp Jr. stood in the falling snow on the steps of U.S. District Court on a cold December day more than two years ago waiting for the press to arrive.

He was looking forward to talking about his client, Citizens United, and its efforts to air advertisements for a movie criticizing Hillary Rodham Clinton which officials said violated campaign finance laws.

Only one reporter showed up that day. But Bopp got his turn in the spotlight last week when the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with his arguments .

In a 5-4 decision, the court's conservative wing held that corporations, nonprofits and labor unions could for the first time use their own funds to directly spend money on political ads to influence elections in the crucial days before an election.

The landmark ruling in Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission has the potential to remake political advertising and grant corporations and advocacy groups new powers to influence elections.

The significance of the decision mostly fell along partisan lines.

Republican officials were among the supporters. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who applauded the court for its "monumental decision" in "restoring the First Amendment rights" to corporations and unions.

Detractors such as Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer called the verdict "a disaster for the American people." Along with several other good government groups, Democracy 21 launched an effort to amend the Constitution to undo the decision.

Bopp, meantime, is getting ready for the next fight. He is preparing for other legal challenges that could roll back McCain-Feingold bans on large donations, widen how political parties coordinate spending with campaigns and repeal many disclosure rules.

Bopp is not new to the world of politics.

A native of Terre Haute, Ind., he returned home after earning his law degree in Florida and set up the law firm Bopp Coleson & Bostrom.

His specialty is campaign finance law, where he typically argues against restrictions on how groups can donate or spend money to influence elections.

Over the last few decades he has worked with many conservative groups including National Right to Life Committee, Inc., National Legal Center for the Medically Dependent and Disabled, Inc. and Focus on the Family.

In addition to his efforts with conservative nonprofits, Bopp has worked for a number of Republican political campaigns including his stints with Indiana Republican Party, Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign and the Indiana Campaign Leadership Team of Bush-Cheney '04.

In September the Republican National Lawyers Association named Bopp Republican Lawyer of the Year for his work on conservative and GOP causes. His continued victories in court led the ABA Journal to call him "perhaps the most prominent lawyer in the country in campaign finance and election law."

He recently garnered attention as the chief sponsor of a so-called "purity test" that would withhold financial support for Republican candidates who broke the party line on 10 key issues.