Swordmaker - the LexiQon is looking great! I like the new “last name, first name” format.
So many names to refer to - this will make it much easier for FReeQ-searchers.
Kit
KING AND SPALDING
#2154
Panic in DC.
King & Spalding hired [last week] to represent Sally Yates?
Q
[Be sure to read to the bottom - it becomes clear why Q brought this to our attention!]
The King and Spalding wiki page has a treasure trove of low hanging information fruit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_%26_Spalding
Corporate Board Member magazine in 2018, ranked the company among the top 25 law firms in the United States preferred by corporate general counsel to represent their companies on national matters. They also are noted for their 100% ranking in the Human Rights Campaign Foundations Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey on corporate practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.
The law firm was formed in 1885, in Atlanta. They have 20 law offices, in such cities as:
HQ - Atlanta, GA
Austin TX
Charlotte NC
Houston TX
Los Angeles CA
New York NY
Sacramento CA
San Franciso CA
Silicon Valley CA
Washington DC
Chicago IL
London
Abu Dhabi
Dubai
Frankfurt
Geneva
Moscow
Paris
Riyadh
Singapore
Tokyo
They have over a 1000 attorneys, with the company areas of practice cited as mergers and acquisitions, financing transactions, regulatory law, and litigation.” It is an LLP type of company.
NOTABLE CASES/ ACTIVITIES - (not exhaustive)
Their early history found them focused on the Southern railroad and utility consolidation transactions in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
PIEDMONT DRIVING CLUB - In the 1800s, the King & Spalding firm incorporated and filed the charter documents of the Piedmont Driving Club, a private social club with two club houses in Atlanta, Georgia. It has enjoyed a reputation as one of the most prestigious private clubs in the South.
DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT
In April 2011, the firm signed a $500,000 contract with the Republican-controlled United States House of Representatives to take on the case of defending the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage in federal law as the union between one man and one woman, in court for the House, with former Solicitor General Paul Clement as its lead attorney.
After the contract was signed, the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign announced it would launch a publicity war to “shame” the firm and planned protest, ads in legal publications, and to try to influence students and potential clients dealings with the firm. Soon after signing, the firm asked to withdraw from the case after facing criticism from gay rights groups, citing an “inadequate” vetting process.
Clement immediately resigned from the firm, writing in a letter to King & Spalding Chairman Robert Hays, “I resign out of the firmly-held belief that a representation should not be abandoned because the client’s legal position is extremely unpopular in certain quarters. Defending unpopular decisions is what lawyers do...Efforts to delegitimize any representation for one side of a legal controversy are a profound threat to the rule of law. He added, “If there were problems with the firm’s vetting process, we should fix the vetting process, not drop the representation.
Clement immediately joined Bancroft PLLC, which took the case.The National Law Journal wrote that the event “leaves unanswered a myriad of questions about the status of Clement’s other cases and clients, and the future of King & Spalding’s D.C. appellate practice, which was built around Clement.
. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey said, “Although lawyers are not obligated in the first instance to take all comers, they are very much obligated not to quit in the face of criticism once they do take on a client. This is a bad message to send to lawyers and to clients .
There is more information on that case at the K&S wiki page.
One notable client who walked away from the law firm because of the law firms decision to back down from its obligation to represent its client, was The National Rifle Association.
This website has a LIST OF CLIENTS of K&S, which I have no way of knowing is accurate - so FWIW:
https://shadowproof.com/2011/04/22/king-and-spalding-list-of-clients/
(Google, 3M, Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG ,Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Walmart - just to name a few.)
SOME OF THEIR NOTABLE PARTNERS:
HORACE SIBLEY - (retired since 2001) - involved in bringing Olympics to Atlanta. Also noted for work with homeless. 1964-1966, he served in the U.S. Army achieving the rank of Captain
http://people.equilar.com/bio/horace-sibley-edci-holdings/salary/65315
http://www.gatewayctr.org/about/board-of-directors/horace-sibley/
MARVIN E. UNDERWOOD - 1913 became Assistant Attorney General of the U.S.
GRIFFIN BELL - (Deceased) Attorney General under President Carter
SAM NUNN - (Now retired) former Georgia U.S. Senator, and Director of Coca Cola.
DAN COATS - Former Indiana U.S. Senator, and current Director of National Intelligence under President Trump
CONNIE MACK III - Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), popularly known as Connie Mack III, is an American former Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida (198389) and then as a Senator (19892001). He served as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference (19972001).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Mack_III
GEORGE BUSBEE - (Deceased) Former Georgia Governor
ROBERT (BOB) G. WOODWARD - (Retired) Tax lawyer.
1981-84, Bob served in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel of the U.S. Treasury Department.
Bob currently is a member of the boards of directors of Atlanta Shakespeare Company and The Atlanta Opera and is a member of the advisory board of Emory Winship Cancer Institute. He is a member of All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta and has served as a member of the vestry, and currently is chair of the endowment committee. He previously has served as board chair of The Schenck School for dyslexic children in Atlanta.
http://www.defendercapital.us/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Bob-Woodward-Bio.pdf
CHRISTOPHER WRAY - (yes, THAT Christopher Wray)
Current FBI Director Christopher A. Wray joined the firm in late 2005 before being appointed by President Donald J. Trump in 2017.
AND OH MY MY MY:
SALLY YATES - (yes, THAT Sally Yates)
In 2018, former United States Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates rejoined the firm’s Special Matters and Government practice group
Their website: www.kslaw.com