King & Spaulding Withdraws from DOMA Defense; Paul Clement Resigns

In a move that I applaud, King & Spaulding has withdrawn from representation of Congressional Republicans who want to uphold DOMA - an unconstitutional law based on religious based anti-gay discrimination. Meanwhile, King & Spaulding partner, Paul Clement who took on the case has resigned and joined what sounds to be a far right law firm made up of individuals who served in Chimperator Bush's Justice Department (talk about an oxymoron). Some such as Andrew Sullivan have decried King & Spaulding being forced from defending DOMA due to the firestorm that erupted over it's short lived role in defending DOMA . Such critics complain that under our legal system the defense of DOMA deserves solid legal representation. Would these naysayers being saying the same thing if the law in question barred interracial marriage or stigmatized Jews or blacks based on nothing more than bigotry? I suspect not. DOMA is all about religious based discrimination and arguments to the contrary are lies and bullshit. First these highlights from the San Francisco Chronicle:
*
A prominent law firm hired by Republican lawmakers to defend the federal ban on gay marriage said Monday it was withdrawing from the case amid criticism by advocacy groups, prompting the partner leading the work to quit.
*
The move by Atlanta-based King & Spalding is the latest flashpoint in the public debate over gay rights. Chairman Robert Hays Jr. said the firm chose to divorce itself from the controversy after determining that the decision to take the case wasn't vetted properly, but gay rights groups had also been pressuring the 800-lawyer company with plans for a protest Tuesday in Atlanta and with calls to its other clients. The groups cheered the move.
*
The decision, however, was sharply criticized by conservative groups, legal observers and the partner who had been handling the case, a former high-ranking Justice Department official under President George W. Bush. Washington-based attorney Paul Clement said he's moving to another law office so he can continue the work.
*
Clement said he will keep working on the case for House leaders at the firm Bancroft PLLC. Boehner's spokesman said the move to Bancroft, known for taking on conservative causes, will "ensure the constitutionality of this law is appropriately determined by the courts, rather than by the President unilaterally."
*
King & Spalding's spokesman would not elaborate on the decision, and several of its attorneys declined to comment. But an expert on legal ethics said it appears the firm was being pressured by law students it hopes to recruit and other clients it hopes to retain.
*
As forPaul Clement's new firm, the Advocate has some details. Here are highlights:
*
As King & Spalding announced Monday that the firm will drop its representation of House Republicans leadership's legal defense in the Defense of Marriage Act cases, Paul Clement, a partner who was tapped to head that defense, has joined a new D.C. law firm, Bancroft PLLC — one staffed by many former Justice Department attorneys under President George W. Bush.
*
Bancroft PLLC specializes mostly in corporate governance, national security, compliance of the USA PATRIOT Act, and other dealings with the federal government.
*
Viet D. Dinh, Bancroft's lead partner, was one of the top figures authors of the USA PATRIOT Act. According to his bio, Dinh helped appoint 100 district judges and 23 appellate judges during his time at the Department of Justice. He is also currently on the board of directors for News Corporation, owned by Rupert Murdoch.