Thursday, the US Supreme Court delivered the most significant victory to law-abiding gun owners in almost a generation (Supreme Court Rules You Can’t ‘Bear’ Arms Unless You Can Carry Them for Self-Defense). In New York State Rifle and Pistol Association vs. Bruen, the Supreme Court demolished a pseudo-jurisprudence that has grown up around the Second Amendment that treats the right to possess and carry weapons as a curious artifact rather than a core American value.
Former US Solicitor General Paul Clement headed the litigation team for the Americans in this case. Clement has extensive and successful Second Amendment appellate experience; he represented the US government’s position in District of Columbia vs. Heller. His expertise was so sought after that the prominent law firm of Kirkland & Ellis essentially bought the law firm where he was a partner in 2016, partly because of his high profile in Second Amendment litigation.
Ordinarily, a Big Law firm that hired a lawyer whose practice was largely Second Amendment cases would expect the lawyer to continue representing those clients. And if that lawyer won a precedent-setting case before the Supreme Court, that would be a cause for celebration. Not today.
A 6-3 victory at the Supreme Court vindicating a constitutional right is usually cause for congratulations, but not these days at Kirkland & Ellis, the giant white-shoe law firm. The firm has rewarded partner Paul Clement for his triumph Thursday in the big New York gun-rights case (see nearby) by telling him to drop his gun clients or leave the firm.
As Mr. Clement and his litigation partner, Erin Murphy, explain nearby, they’re leaving the firm rather than dump their clients. That’s the honorable and ethical decision.