04/25/11-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Paul Clement has resigned from King & Spalding. The decision by him to do so may mean that he will remain in a position of defending the Defense of Marriage Act even though such a move might not be the wisest move on his part or the part of his new law firm Bancroft PLLC.

In part, Clement stated:

“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 clients is what lawyers do. I recognized from the outset that this statute implicates very sensitive issues that prompt strong views on both sides. But having undertaken the representation, I believe there is no honorable course for me but to complete it.”

The full letter can be read here.

Clement also mentioned the fact that the “for a lawyer, the surest way to be on the wrong side of history is to abandon a client in the face of hostile criticism.” This could explain why he was more than willing to abandon the rule of law and the Constitution in order to defend the Bush Administration while they tortured people and incarcerated them without trial. It seems as if Clement’s entire rationale shows more of a bit of unethical thinking than it does political savvy.

Still, Clement does not seem adverse to squandering millions of taxpayer dollars in order to get rich. Unfortunately for Speaker Boehner, the contract was not with Clement, but with K&S, and that means going back to the drawing board- and he might get a lot more resistence this time than he did last.