In my view, HRC needs to immediately revise the rating of Atlanta based law firm King & Spaulding to a Zero rating - or even a less than zero, if that's possible - now that the news has come out that the law firm has contracted with the GOP to bar any and all employees (both attorneys and staff) from engaging in any conduct supportive of same sex marriage. At least one progressive organization has begun a petition campaign against the firm and prominent law schools - if their non-discrimination policies mean anything more than the paper they are written on - need to block King & Spaulding from on campus interviews. Here in Virginia, that would mean the University of Virginia School of Law, William and Mary's Marshall Wythe School of Law and Washington & Lee Law School would all slam their doors in King & Spaulding's face. Will it happen? I'm not holding my breath given the spinelessness the law schools have exhibited in the past in their handling of documented anti-gay law firms. First, these highlights from Metro Weekly on the gag order provision of the GOP contract:*
All of King & Spalding's employees – lawyers and non-lawyers – are barred from advocating for the Respect for Marriage Act – the bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act – in the 112th Congress, according to the terms of the contract to defend DOMA that King & Spalding partner Paul Clement signed on the firm's behalf on April 14.
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The contract, which was entered into with U.S. House of Representatives General Counsel Kerry Kircher on behalf of the House's Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend DOMA in court, contains a provision that prohibits all King & Spalding attorneys and non-attorney employees from any advocacy to "alter or amend" DOMA.
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Human Rights Campaign vice president of communications Fred Sainz, whose organization has harshly criticized King & Spalding for taking the case, told Metro Weekly, "This particular provision adds insult to injury. Not only is K&S promoting discrimination, they also are muzzling their own employees from opposing discrimination and doing what's right."
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What's more, Jon Davidson, the legal director at Lambda Legal, told Metro Weekly that in some states the provision might be illegal. Davidson specifically pointed to California, where King & Spalding has two offices, in which Labor Code Section 1101 states that "[n]o employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy ... [f]orbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics ...."
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The current president of the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia, Brian M. Basinger, is an associate at King & Spalding and did not respond to multiple messages seeking comment. Based on Davidson's comments, in which he said that it was possible that a King & Spalding lawyer could be prohibited from serving on Lambda Legal's board since it has advocated for the repeal of DOMA, it is possible that Basinger would be prohibited under the contract from serving as president of the Stonewall Bar Association based on the group's activities if they include anti-DOMA advocacy.
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Jeffery Cleghorn, the immediate past president of the Stonewall Bar Association of Georgia and a member of the board of directors of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, spoke to Metro Weekly about the decision of King & Spalding to take this case and the firm's place in the Atlanta legal community. . . . "As a past president and a gay lawyer in Atlanta, though, I do think I can say that, for gay lawyers throughout Georgia, we are traumatized by the decision of this law firm and this business to take on a client that is in essence trying to do harm to us and our families and LGBT Americans across the country."
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Huffington Post has coverage on the grass roots effort to generate backlash against King & Spaulding. Here are highlights:
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A progressive organization is targeting employees at the law firm King & Spalding with an online campaign aimed at preventing House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) from using taxpayer money to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a case that one of King & Spalding's partners has agreed to lead.
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More than 31,000 individuals have signed a petition started by the grassroots organizing group CREDO Action objecting to House Republicans hiring King & Spalding partner Paul Clement, who previously served as President Bush's solicitor general, to defend DOMA using public funds.
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Because CREDO wants employees of King & Spalding to know about the petition, the group has targeted them with Facebook ads that direct them to it. On Facebook, it's possible to target ads toward people who list specific employers. There are approximately 450 people on the social networking site who are associated with King & Spalding. Some of them may be former employees, and there are likely a large number of individuals who don't list their place of work on their profiles. But that group, at the very least, represents a network of people affiliated with the firm.
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"It's appalling that a company like King and Spalding that actively touts diversity as a core value would turn around and defend a discriminatory law that treats its own employees like second class citizens," said Lockshin. "As a company that works for social change, we know that corporations have a choice. CREDO has chosen to stand up for marriage equality. And we thought it was important that the lawyers and staff at King and Spalding face the choice their company has made to stand on the wrong side of history."
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