{"id":32303,"date":"2022-06-28T14:02:43","date_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:02:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/?p=32303"},"modified":"2022-06-28T14:02:46","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T14:02:46","slug":"big-law-and-the-second-amendment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/?p=32303","title":{"rendered":"Big Law And The Second Amendment (Updated)"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:2897,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.bradyunited.org\\\/program\\\/brady-legal-alliance&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2898,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/giffords.org\\\/lawcenter\\\/gun-laws&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/giffords.org\\\/lawcenter\\\/gun-laws\\\/&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2899,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/firearmsaccountability.org&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20260221143959\\\/https:\\\/\\\/firearmsaccountability.org\\\/&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-16 06:22:24&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-22 02:17:57&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-29 16:34:16&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-05-03 14:32:06&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-05-03 14:32:06&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2900,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.kirkland.com&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2901,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.law.com\\\/americanlawyer\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/20\\\/the-2021-am-law-100-ranked-by-gross-revenue&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.law.com\\\/americanlawyer\\\/2021\\\/04\\\/20\\\/the-2021-am-law-100-ranked-by-gross-revenue\\\/&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:612,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.supremecourt.gov\\\/opinions\\\/21pdf\\\/20-843_7j80.pdf&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20260406040916\\\/https:\\\/\\\/www.supremecourt.gov\\\/opinions\\\/21pdf\\\/20-843_7j80.pdf&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-15 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14:32:02&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:206},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2902,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.law.com\\\/nationallawjournal\\\/almID\\\/1202724823834&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.law.com\\\/nationallawjournal\\\/almID\\\/1202724823834\\\/&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2903,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.politico.com\\\/news\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/23\\\/lawyers-gun-rights-supreme-court-00041909&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2904,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.wsj.com\\\/articles\\\/you-won-your-gun-case-youre-fired-11656024233&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.wsj.com\\\/opinion\\\/you-won-your-gun-case-youre-fired-11656024233&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2905,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.wsj.com\\\/articles\\\/2nd-amendment-bruen-new-york-gun-case-supreme-court-decision-kirkland-and-ellis-rule-of-law-constitution-11656017031&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.wsj.com\\\/opinion\\\/2nd-amendment-bruen-new-york-gun-case-supreme-court-decision-kirkland-and-ellis-rule-of-law-constitution-11656017031&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2906,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/armsandthelaw.com\\\/archives\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/paul_clement_hi.php&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2907,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/news.bloomberglaw.com\\\/business-and-practice\\\/wake-up-call-kirkland-lawyers-facing-glare-in-epstein-sex-trafficking-case&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:2908,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/pjmedia.com\\\/jchristianadams\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/08\\\/vampires-shirley-sherrod-lawyers-seek-to-sue-widow-of-andrew-breitbart-n121919&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/web-wp.archive.org\\\/web\\\/20240302012209\\\/https:\\\/\\\/pjmedia.com\\\/jchristianadams\\\/2013\\\/10\\\/08\\\/vampires-shirley-sherrod-lawyers-seek-to-sue-widow-of-andrew-breitbart-n121919&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-16 06:27:13&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-04-29 16:34:19&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-05-03 14:32:08&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200}],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:{&quot;date&quot;:&quot;2026-05-03 14:32:08&quot;,&quot;http_code&quot;:200},&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<p>Big Law, those mega-law firms which have hundreds of associates slaving away to make partners even richer, doesn&#8217;t like guns. They freely donate their time and efforts to groups like <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bradyunited.org\/program\/brady-legal-alliance\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Brady United<\/a><\/strong>, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/giffords.org\/lawcenter\/gun-laws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Giffords Law Center<\/a><\/strong>, and their joint <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/firearmsaccountability.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Firearms Accountability Task Force<\/a><\/strong>. However, don&#8217;t ask them to defend guns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The most recent case is point is mega-firm <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kirkland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kirkland and Ellis LLP<\/a><\/strong>. They are the largest law firm in the United States<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/americanlawyer\/2021\/04\/20\/the-2021-am-law-100-ranked-by-gross-revenue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> based upon revenues<\/a><\/strong> according to Law.com. Yesterday afternoon, fresh on the heels of their major win in <em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/21pdf\/20-843_7j80.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NYSRPA v. Bruen<\/a><\/strong><\/em>, Kirkland and Ellis partners Paul Clement and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.com\/nationallawjournal\/almID\/1202724823834\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Erin Murphy<\/a><\/strong> announced they were having to leave the firm due to a change in policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/06\/23\/lawyers-gun-rights-supreme-court-00041909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Politico<\/a><\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>\u201cWe were given a stark choice: either withdraw from ongoing representations or withdraw from the firm,\u201d Clement said in a statement. \u201cAnyone who knows us and our views regarding professional responsibility and client loyalty knows there was only one course open to us: We could not abandon ongoing representations just because a client\u2019s position is unpopular in some circles.\u201d<\/p><p>Through a firm spokesperson, Kirkland confirmed its decision but did not explain its rationale for dropping gun cases. A key attorney at Kirkland, Jon Ballis, said he hoped the firm could continue to work with Clement and Murphy on matters not related to guns.<\/p><p>\u201cWe wish them the best of luck in the future and we look forward to collaborating with them in the future in matters not involving the Second Amendment,\u201d Ballis said in a statement.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>While the firm biographies of both Clement and Murphy appeared on the Kirkland website earlier this morning, they are now gone. Both Clement and Murphy had served Supreme Court clerkships. Clement was a clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia while Murphy served as a clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts. In addition, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2022\/06\/23\/lawyers-gun-rights-supreme-court-00041909\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Clement <\/a><\/strong>was the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the Wall Street Journal put it in an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/you-won-your-gun-case-youre-fired-11656024233\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">editorial <\/a><\/strong>today, &#8220;You Won Your Gun Case. You\u2019re Fired.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They go on to say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>But these days gun-rights advocates are unpopular in the tony precincts of Los Angeles and New York where Kirkland represents business clients. When it comes to core constitutional rights versus corporate retainers that finance summer homes in the Hamptons, the Constitution is a second-class citizen&#8230;<\/p><p>Kirkland\u2019s invertebrate abdication illustrates how progressive ideology dominates the commanding heights of American law, business and culture. If you want to know why a groundswell of opposition against this woke conformity is building in the provinces, this is it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Clement and Murphy have their own op-ed in today&#8217;s Wall Street Journal entitled, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/2nd-amendment-bruen-new-york-gun-case-supreme-court-decision-kirkland-and-ellis-rule-of-law-constitution-11656017031\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&#8220;The Law Firm That Got Tired of Winning&#8221;.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They point out the proper role of a good attorney:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>A lawyer can withdraw from a representation for good reason, like a newly discovered conflict of interest. But defending unpopular clients is what we do. The rare individuals and companies lucky enough to be universally popular (for the time being) have less need for lawyers. And the least popular clients are most in need of representation, from the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre to the defendant in the Boston Marathon bombing.<\/p><p>Our adversarial system of justice depends on the representation of controversial clients, no matter which side has most of big law rooting for it. This is particularly true in constitutional cases. Many of our fundamental constitutional guarantees are designed to be countermajoritarian, and many have been vindicated by litigants who are deeply unpopular, but still have a right to march through Skokie, Ill., to confront witnesses against them\u2014or to defend themselves from violence.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>I am glad there are ethical attorneys like Paul Clement and Erin Murphy. I am even more glad they were on our side and will continue to be on our side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>UPDATE: <\/strong> Dave Hardy at <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/armsandthelaw.com\/archives\/2022\/06\/paul_clement_hi.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Arms and The Law blog pointed out<\/a><\/strong> something about Kirkland and Ellis that I did not know. The firm thought <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news.bloomberglaw.com\/business-and-practice\/wake-up-call-kirkland-lawyers-facing-glare-in-epstein-sex-trafficking-case\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">defending Jeffrey Epstein<\/a><\/strong> was just fine but the 2A was icky. Hmm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/pjmedia.com\/jchristianadams\/2013\/10\/08\/vampires-shirley-sherrod-lawyers-seek-to-sue-widow-of-andrew-breitbart-n121919\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Kirkland lawyers sued the widow of Andrew Breitbart<\/a><\/strong> as a continuation of their suit against him back in 2013. What a classy bunch.<\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Big Law, those mega-law firms which have hundreds of associates slaving away to make partners even richer, doesn&#8217;t like&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6074,6076,6077,294,6075],"class_list":["post-32303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-big-law","tag-erin-murphy","tag-kirkland-and-ellis","tag-paul-clement","tag-second-amendment-litigation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32303"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32303\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32319,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32303\/revisions\/32319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onlygunsandmoney.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}