Legal shakeup over U.S. House GOP's DOMA defense

By Kimberly Atkins The Daily Record Newswire After the law firm King and Spalding decided to withdraw from representing House Republicans' defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, lead attorney and former Solicitor General Paul Clement resigned from the firm in protest - and quickly vowed to continue the defense of the law with the boutique firm Bancroft PLLC. The move came in a shocking turn of events this week, which started with the announcement from King and Spalding that it would seek to withdraw as counsel in charge of defending the law, which denies federal benefits to gay married couples. The firm's chairman, Robert Hays Jr., said the decision was due to the firm's ''inadequate'' vetting of its involvement in the litigation, according to the National Law Journal's BLT blog. Gay rights groups have recently criticized the firm for taking up the defense of the law after the Obama administration announced earlier this year that it would no long defend the statute against challenges in federal court. Clement protested by resigning from the firm, which he joined back in 2008 after leaving the solicitor general's office. In his letter of resignation, posted by the blog How Appealing, Clement said he decided to leave the firm immediately ''not because of strongly held views about this statute.'' ''Instead, I resign out of the firmly-held belief that a representation should not be abandoned because the client's position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters,'' Clement wrote. ''Defending unpopular positions is what lawyers do. The adversary system of justice depends on it, especially in cases where the passions run high.'' Soon after, Bankroft released a statement announcing Clement as the firm's newest partner. The announcement, which touts Clement's background as a veteran Supreme Court advocate, mentions neither his work at King and Spalding nor his representation in the DOMA case. Published: Thu, Apr 28, 2011