As part of the NRA annual meeting in Houston, Texas, is a day-long legal seminar for lawyers associated with or who want to be associated with Second Amendment issues.
One presenter, reports Reuters Legal, has pulled out, without explanation. That's Kirkland & Ellis partner Kasdin Mitchell.
K&E has represented clients with firearms matters, including the NRA. One of its partners Paul Clement had argued before the US Supreme Court "New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen."
As Law and More explains, that is about the right to carry a concealed weapon in NY state. The High Court has not yet issued its ruling. But few expect that to be delayed because of the mass murder in Uvalde. If there is a delay it will probably be to give time for the justices to insert a reference about Uvalde.
The reality that legal powerhouse K&E will not be participating in the NRA firearms seminar obviously raises this question: How much can defending clients with firearms legal matters impact reputational issues for law firms? That leads into the next question: How much could that hurt business?
It is impossible not to recall how Boies Schiller's representation of Harvey Weinstein threw the brand into chaos. The tipping point, of course, had been The New Yorker expose on how Boies Schiller was going about the defense. Next there was an outcry about how Boies Schiller co-founder David Boies was also representing startup Theranos. There may or may not be a correlation between those branding upheavals and the partner flight, along with the decline in revenue. Law and More covered how three more "stars" had left Boies Schiller.
The hits K&E and other law firms could take depend on the reach and influence of outrage about mass shootings. As Bloomberg Law documents, in 2022 alone there have been 213 of them. "Mass shooting" is defined as four or more injured or killed during such an incident.
It is telling that K&E will not have an active role in the NRA legal seminar. It will also be interesting to follow the media reports on what lawyers do turn up at the seminar. In fact, that in itself could become a major media story in covering the NRA annual meeting. Will the progressive media position and package the lawyers' entrance to the seminar as a kind of Walk of Shame?
On the other hand, those with power might not be able to move the dial enough on outrage about Uvalde. Or, more to the point, not want to do that, not at all. Firearms are big business. The guns and ammo manufacturing industry in the US, IBIS documents, has a current market size of $19.5 billion.
Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova at janegenova374@gmail.com.