Kirkland & Ellis LLP is one of the most prominent law firms in America and has decided to drop all Second Amendment cases due to pressure from clients as well as other lawyers. The two primary attorneys who argued New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen successfully before the Supreme Court were left without clients or jobs.
Paul Clement, a former Solicitor General, and Erin Murphy, a regular Supreme Court litigator, resigned their positions at Kirkland & Ellis, and announced that they would open their own shop in Washington, D.C. Clement is a prominent litigator for conservative causes ever since he left President George W. Bush’s administration. He argued the Defense of Marriage Act for Republican legislators before the Supreme Court in 2011.
Clement also resigned from King & Spalding after being pressured by clients to drop the gay marriage case.
Jon Ballis, Kirkland’s executive chairman, stated in a release that Paul and Erin were “valuable colleagues”. We wish them all the best in the future, and look forward to working with them on matters that do not involve the Second Amendment.
Clement stated in a statement that “we were faced with a choice: withdraw from ongoing representations, or withdraw from this firm.” “Anyone who has ever known us and understood our views on professional responsibility and client loyalty will know that there was only one option: we could not stop continuing representations simply because a client’s position was unpopular in certain circles.
Kirkland confirmed the decision through a spokesperson for the firm, but did not elaborate on why it dropped gun cases. Jon Ballis, a key Kirkland attorney, stated that he hoped the firm would continue to work with Murphy and Clement on non-gun related matters.
It’s mind-boggling. It’s amazing. Clement was a representative of the NRA. Clement made it a condition of his employment to retain the NRA as a client.
These days, gun-rights advocates are not popular in the tony precincts Los Angeles and New York, where Kirkland represents business clientele. The Constitution is second-class citizen when it comes to the core constitutional rights and corporate retainers that fund summer homes in Hamptons.
This is ethical legal representation at its worst. Unpopular clients are most in need for legal counsel. Lawyers will not represent clients who lie or fail to pay their bills. However, Mr. Clement’s gun clients include individuals and state gun groups such as the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association. It won its case at Thursday’s High Court. Kirkland is throwing out clients who have not done anything wrong and have cases in litigation. Ms. Murphy and Mr. Clement stated that “we could not abandon ongoing representations simply because a client isn’t popular in some circles.”
These law firms are under pressure from the left to lose clients they don’t agree with, while claiming that terrorists should have the best legal representation. It is sickening until they realize how much damage they are causing to themselves.
