Law firm King & Spalding is facing serious backlash in the community over House Speaker John Boehner’s engagement of the firm to defend DOMA – the Defense of Marriage Act.
According to today’s article at huffingtonpost.com, “Law Firm Fighting For Defense Of Marriage Act Faces Backlash From Legal Groups, Colleges”, members of the LGBT legal community are considering diassociating themselves from the firm.Jon Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal, the nation’s oldest and largest legal organization working for LGBT equality, was quoted as saying about King & Spalding’s decision to take the case as “Depressing,” and that “I think it’s going to hurt them in their recruiting of future lawyers.”
Interestingly, in 2006 the firm announced national sponsorship of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Davidson was also quoted as saying: “As legal director, I would take the position that we should not use them as cooperating attorneys with us — that is, people who work with us on a pro bono basis in cases. I wouldn’t want to team with them, so long as they’re actively harming our community by defending DOMA.”
Established in 1885, King & Spalding has over 800 lawyers practicing around the globe. Clients include half of the Fortune 100, as well as hundreds of clients in mid-sized companies in emerging industries and new ventures.
In 1996, Congress adopted the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman for purposes of all federal laws, and provides that states need not recognize a marriage from another state if it is between persons of the same sex.
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