Star appellate attorneys leave Kirkland

Star appellate attorneys leave Kirkland

Prominent Supreme Court appellate lawyers Paul Clement and Erin Murphy will launch their own litigation firm.

Following Kirkland's decision to cease representing clients in Second Amendment matters, prominent Supreme Court appellate lawyers Paul Clement and Erin Murphy will launch their own litigation firm.

Clement and the Washington DC-based pair left nearly one hour after the Supreme Court struck down New York's door limits on carrying concealed handguns in public with a 6-3 decision yesterday.

His client, the National Rifle Association, a subsidiary of his client, the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, brought the case against Clement. In addition to Murphy, other members of the team worked on it.

As a result, Clement said in a statement, "we were given a difficult decision: we had to either withdraw from ongoing representations or leave the firm." According to Clement, "our perspective on professional responsibility and client loyalty was the only option. We could not abandon ongoing representations simply because a client's position was unpopular."

According to CNN, some Kirkland advocates were uneasy with continuing to represent Second Amendment-related cases following the recent school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, indicating that their differences in views were 'irreparable' and that Clement and Murphy would leave out of loyalty to their clients.

"Paul and Erin have been valued colleagues," said Jon Ballis, chairman of Kirkland's executive committee. In addition to wishing them the best of luck in the future, we look forward to collaborating with them on issues surrounding the Second Amendment in the future."

Having represented conservative clients in controversial cases, Clement has left a leading US law firm second time.