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Written by Lisa Neff, Staff writer
May 5, 2011
Former solicitor general Paul Clement – Photo: Courtesy
With pressure mounting from clients and civil rights activists, a prestigious law firm recently dropped plans to defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
The Atlanta-based firm of King and Spalding made a quick turnaround, taking the case at the request of Congressional Republicans and then, in a matter of days, dropping the case.
The firm’s decision prompted high-profile attorney Paul Clement, George W. Bush’s solicitor general, to resign.
Earlier this year, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration would not defend the DOMA provision federally defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. That provisions bars same-sex couples legally married in five states and the District of Columbia from receiving the more than 1,000 federal rights associated with marriage. Holder said the administration decided it could not defend an unconstitutional law.
Holder, in his statement, left defense of the 1996 measure to Congress, if it wanted that task.
Soon after, GOP leaders in the House began looking for a defense attorney.
Clement took the job in mid-April, prompting LGBT civil rights advocates to question the hiring of a high-priced attorney by party leaders who claim to be focused on reducing the deficit and boosting the economy.
“How much taxpayer money will this cost?” asked Joe Solmonese of the Human Rights Campaign. The contract provided for a fee of $520 per hour, with a cap at $500,000.
Activists began a campaign against King and Spalding. HRC said it wanted to “educate clients and potential recruits about King and Spalding’s decision to voluntarily take up” DOMA’s defense.
“The bottom line is that K&S was under no obligation to take this case,” Solmonese said. But, he added, “Discrimination, no matter how profitable, is never good for business.”
HRC placed ads in mainstream and trade publications shaming the firm. The organization also sent letters to law schools and organized protests.
At the onset of the campaign, Solmonese said, “We don’t hold out much hope that K&S will drop this engagement.”
Five days later, he heralded the firm’s decision to drop the case. “We are pleased to see the firm stand on the right side of history,” he said.
Firm chairman Robert Hays Jr. said the decision to take the case was not vetted properly.
Clement, meanwhile, said he planned to continue handling the DOMA defense, just at another law firm – Bancroft PLLC. In a terse letter, he wrote that “defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do.”
Meanwhile, Log Cabin Republicans criticized the pressure applied against King & Spalding. LCR headlined a press release “Fight the law, not the lawyer.”
