<b><i>BREAKING NEWS:</i></b> King & Spalding Drops Marriage Case; Former Solicitor General Quits Firm

After a week of criticism from gay-rights groups, King & Spalding reversed itself on April 25 and asked to withdraw as counsel in charge of defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

In a statement, firm chairman Robert Hays Jr. said the process for vetting its involvement in the litigation was 'inadequate.' Hays took responsibility for 'any mistakes' and apologized.

Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement, who has been leading the litigation, is resigning in protest. See below for more.

Organizations that advocate for gays and lesbians, most prominently the Human Rights Campaign based in Washington, have harshly criticized the firm's involvement with the litigation and promised to target the firm's clients and recruits. A news conference had been scheduled for April 26 in Atlanta, where the law firm is based.

King & Spalding's involvement in the litigation became public on April 18, and Hays' statement says the firm's attempt to withdraw began soon after. 'Last week we worked diligently through the process required for withdrawal,' the statement says.

'In reviewing this assignment further, I determined that the process used for vetting this engagement was inadequate,' the statement continues. 'Ultimately I am responsible for any mistakes that occurred and apologize for the challenges this may have created.'

The request for withdrawal leaves Republicans in the U.S. House without outside counsel to defend the 1996 law, but in filings in federal court in Manhattan, King & Spalding asks the court to give the House additional time to find new counsel. Withdrawal requires the approval of the court, according to the filings.

The court filings are signed by Richard Cirillo, a partner in King & Spalding's New York office and, according to his firm profile, the chairman of the firm's ethics committee. Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement, the chairman of King & Spalding's appellate practice, has been the firm's lead attorney on the same-sex marriage litigation.

A hearing is scheduled for May 25 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to the filings.

Hays did not elaborate on any vetting mistakes. A spokesman said the firm would have no comment beyond Hays' statement. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who hired King & Spalding, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement is resigning from King & Spalding in protest after the law firm's request on April 25 to withdraw from lawsuits about the Defense of Marriage Act.

Clement says he'll continue working on the same-sex marriage litigation on behalf of U.S. House Republicans from Bancroft, a small Washington litigation firm. And in a two-page letter to King & Spalding's chairman, Robert Hays Jr., Clement pointedly disagreed with King & Spalding's handling of the matter.

The letter says a law firm should not abandon a representation 'because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters.'

'Defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do,' Clement writes. 'The adversary system of justice depends on it, especially in cases where the passions run high. Efforts to delegitimize any representation for one side of a legal controversy are a profound threat to the rule of law.'

The letter also takes issue with the idea that King & Spalding did not thoroughly vet the contract that Clement signed with the House General Counsel's Office this month, an idea that Hays mentioned in a statement today. 'I would have never undertaken this matter unless I believed I had the full backing of the firm,' Clement writes, adding that, 'If there were problems with the firm's vetting process, we should fix the vetting process, not drop the representation.'

Clement rejoined King & Spalding in 2008 in a much-watched move reportedly worth $5 million a year. He had been head of the firm's appellate practice until he became deputy solicitor general in 2001. He became solicitor general in 2005.

In his resignation letter, Clement writes that he has 'immense fondness' for his colleagues and for King & Spalding, but that 'my loyalty to the client and respect for the profession must come first.' He ends with a quote from former U.S. attorney general Griffin Bell, a longtime King & Spalding partner, warning that lawyers have a duty to finish a representation after it begins.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), said in an e-mailed statement that Clement 'has demonstrated legal integrity.'

At Bancroft, Clement will be a partner and he'll link up with another veteran of the Justice Department from George W. Bush's presidency: Viet Dinh, a former assistant attorney general. H. Christopher Bartolomucci, an associate White House counsel under Bush, is also a partner.

In a news release from Bancroft, Clement said his new firm 'offers its clients premier talent, without all the baggage of a mega firm. We are shaking up the D.C. legal establishment.'

Dinh, in the same news release, said Clement 'is a perfect fit with Bancroft, where we are building the next great law firm.'

Click here for a copy of Clement's letter.

David Ingram writes for The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes (http://legaltimes.typepad.com/).

After a week of criticism from gay-rights groups, King & Spalding reversed itself on April 25 and asked to withdraw as counsel in charge of defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

In a statement, firm chairman Robert Hays Jr. said the process for vetting its involvement in the litigation was 'inadequate.' Hays took responsibility for 'any mistakes' and apologized.

Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement, who has been leading the litigation, is resigning in protest. See below for more.

Organizations that advocate for gays and lesbians, most prominently the Human Rights Campaign based in Washington, have harshly criticized the firm's involvement with the litigation and promised to target the firm's clients and recruits. A news conference had been scheduled for April 26 in Atlanta, where the law firm is based.

King & Spalding's involvement in the litigation became public on April 18, and Hays' statement says the firm's attempt to withdraw began soon after. 'Last week we worked diligently through the process required for withdrawal,' the statement says.

'In reviewing this assignment further, I determined that the process used for vetting this engagement was inadequate,' the statement continues. 'Ultimately I am responsible for any mistakes that occurred and apologize for the challenges this may have created.'

The request for withdrawal leaves Republicans in the U.S. House without outside counsel to defend the 1996 law, but in filings in federal court in Manhattan, King & Spalding asks the court to give the House additional time to find new counsel. Withdrawal requires the approval of the court, according to the filings.

The court filings are signed by Richard Cirillo, a partner in King & Spalding's New York office and, according to his firm profile, the chairman of the firm's ethics committee. Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement, the chairman of King & Spalding's appellate practice, has been the firm's lead attorney on the same-sex marriage litigation.

A hearing is scheduled for May 25 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to the filings.

Hays did not elaborate on any vetting mistakes. A spokesman said the firm would have no comment beyond Hays' statement. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), who hired King & Spalding, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement is resigning from King & Spalding in protest after the law firm's request on April 25 to withdraw from lawsuits about the Defense of Marriage Act.

Clement says he'll continue working on the same-sex marriage litigation on behalf of U.S. House Republicans from Bancroft, a small Washington litigation firm. And in a two-page letter to King & Spalding's chairman, Robert Hays Jr., Clement pointedly disagreed with King & Spalding's handling of the matter.

The letter says a law firm should not abandon a representation 'because the client's legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters.'

'Defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do,' Clement writes. 'The adversary system of justice depends on it, especially in cases where the passions run high. Efforts to delegitimize any representation for one side of a legal controversy are a profound threat to the rule of law.'

The letter also takes issue with the idea that King & Spalding did not thoroughly vet the contract that Clement signed with the House General Counsel's Office this month, an idea that Hays mentioned in a statement today. 'I would have never undertaken this matter unless I believed I had the full backing of the firm,' Clement writes, adding that, 'If there were problems with the firm's vetting process, we should fix the vetting process, not drop the representation.'

Clement rejoined King & Spalding in 2008 in a much-watched move reportedly worth $5 million a year. He had been head of the firm's appellate practice until he became deputy solicitor general in 2001. He became solicitor general in 2005.

In his resignation letter, Clement writes that he has 'immense fondness' for his colleagues and for King & Spalding, but that 'my loyalty to the client and respect for the profession must come first.' He ends with a quote from former U.S. attorney general Griffin Bell, a longtime King & Spalding partner, warning that lawyers have a duty to finish a representation after it begins.

Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), said in an e-mailed statement that Clement 'has demonstrated legal integrity.'

At Bancroft, Clement will be a partner and he'll link up with another veteran of the Justice Department from George W. Bush's presidency: Viet Dinh, a former assistant attorney general. H. Christopher Bartolomucci, an associate White House counsel under Bush, is also a partner.

In a news release from Bancroft, Clement said his new firm 'offers its clients premier talent, without all the baggage of a mega firm. We are shaking up the D.C. legal establishment.'

Dinh, in the same news release, said Clement 'is a perfect fit with Bancroft, where we are building the next great law firm.'

Click here for a copy of Clement's letter.

David Ingram writes for The BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes (http://legaltimes.typepad.com/).