Defending (and not defending) DOMA:
The King & Spalding Controversy
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Presented By
NYCLA's LGBT Issues Committee and The LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
6:30-8:00 PM
NYCLA Home of Law
14 Vesey Street
(between Broadway and Church Street in Lower Manhattan)
King & Spalding's initial decision to represent the Congressional Republicans in litigation concerning DOMA was met with a public campaign of criticism organized by one of the nation's leading LGBT rights organizations, the Human Rights Campaign. The controversy, which culminated in the firm's request to withdraw from such representation and the resignation of a prominent partner, has fueled significant debate in the legal community and beyond - about the propriety of criticizing a law firm for the choice of its clients, the extent to which law firm employees should ever be prohibited from advocacy that runs counter to the interests of a law firm client and the potential conflict between a lawyer's ethical obligations and other values.
The panelists will participate in a discussion about the controversy as they respond to such questions as: Is advocacy aimed at encouraging a law firm to drop a client ever appropriate? What responsibility, if any, do members of the legal profession have in the face of such pressure? Should the withdrawal be viewed simply as a testament to an increasing societal commitment to equality or, instead, as evidence that the legal profession's tradition of defending unpopular clients is increasingly under assault?
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Panelists
Kevin Cathcart, Executive Director, Lambda Legal
Professor Katherine Franke, Director, Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, Columbia Law School
Pery D. Krinsky, Krinsky PLLC, Chair, NYCLA's Professional Discipline Committee, and Chair, NYSBA's Ethics Committee of EASL Section
Wesley R. Powell, Partner, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and lead counsel to six men challenging their detention in Guantanamo Bay
Visit www.le-gal.org to register.
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