Editing King & Spalding

{{Infobox Law Firm
| firm_name = King & Spalding LLP
| firm_logo = [[Image:King-&-Spalding-smlogo.gif|200px|King & Spalding]]
| headquarters = [[1180 Peachtree]]<br>[[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]] 
| foundation = 1885 
| num_offices = 17 
| num_attorneys = 800 
| practice_areas = General practice 
| revenue = {{profit}}$861.5 million [[United States dollar|USD]] (2013)
| date_founded = 1885 ([[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]) 
| company_type = [[LLP]] 
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.kslaw.com}}
}}

'''King & Spalding LLP''' is an American [[law firm]] with 129 years of service. It was founded in [[Atlanta, Georgia]] in 1885 by [[Alexander C. King]] and Jack Spalding. The firm has expanded nationally, with offices in Austin, Charlotte, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. The firm has a London-based international arm, '''King & Spalding International LLP''', which opened in 2003, and office or affiliates in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Moscow, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore and Tokyo.
 
On June 16, 2003, ''Corporate Board Member'' magazine named King & Spalding Atlanta's best corporate law firm for the second consecutive year, and in 2008, ranked the company among the top 20 law firms in the United States preferred by corporate general counsel to represent their companies on national matters.

King & Spalding's senior partners include former [[United States Attorney General]] [[Griffin Bell]] (now deceased). Georgia's former [[United States Senate|US Senator]] [[Sam Nunn]] (now retired), former [[Indiana]] US Senator and now [[Director of National Intelligence]] in the [[Trump Administration]] [[Dan Coats]], former [[Florida]] US Senator [[Connie Mack III|Connie Mack]], and former [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] governor [[George Busbee]] (now deceased) also joined the firm after their respective retirements from public office.  The firm's current chairman Robert Hays has held the position since 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.kslaw.com/News-and-Insights/NewsDetail?us_nsc_id=8220 |title= Robert D. Hays, Jr. Re-Elected Chairman of King & Spalding |author= Press Release |date= September 8, 2014 |work= King & Spalding website |accessdate= July 8, 2017 }}</ref>  President Trump's [[FBI]] Director nominee [[Christopher A. Wray]] joined the firm in late 2005.<ref>Cleary, Tom, [http://heavy.com/news/2017/05/christopher-chris-wray-ray-fbi-director-us-attorney-comey-bio/ "Christopher Wray: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know"], ''Heavy.com'', June 7, 2017.</ref>

Notable representations include: [[Monsanto]], [[The Coca-Cola Company]], [[Chevron Corporation]] and [[General Motors]] Corporation.{{cn|date=June 2017}} The firm also "advises [President] Trump’s family real estate empire", according to one report which cited also the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] on the subject.<ref>Thrush, Glenn, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, [https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/07/us/politics/christopher-wray-fbi-director.html "Trump Picks Christopher Wray to Be F.B.I. Director"], ''New York Times'', June 7, 2017. Retrieved 2017-06-07.</ref>

==Notable cases==
*Legal counsel as [[Guantanamo Bay attorneys]] for six [[Yemeni detainees at Guantanamo Bay|Yemeni detainees]], including [[Mohammed Al-Adahi]].<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202463690530&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1
| title=D.C. Circuit Rules Against Guantanamo Detainee
| author=Meredith Hobbs
| date=July 20, 2010
| publisher=Law.com
| accessdate=2011-04-30
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.kslaw.com/About-Us/Public-Service/Pro-Bono-Matters 
 |title=Pro Bono Matters 
 |year=2011 
 |publisher=King & Spalding 
 |accessdate=2011-04-30 
 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5yPqj2GAK?url=http://www.kslaw.com/About-Us/Public-Service/Pro-Bono-Matters 
 |archivedate=2011-05-03 
 |deadurl=yes 
 |df= 
}}</ref>

===Defense of Marriage Act===
In April 2011 the firm signed a $500,000 contract with the [[Republican Party (United States)|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 [[United States Solicitor General|Solicitor General]] [[Paul Clement]], the firm's most prominent [[Washington, D.C.]] partner,<ref name="LATimes"/> as its lead attorney.<ref>{{cite news|last=Lochhead |first=Carolyn|title=GOP's big push to protect Defense of Marriage Act|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/04/20/MNQK1J3LD6.DTL|work=SF Gate|accessdate=20 April 2011|date=April 19, 2011}}</ref> 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.<ref name="LATimes">[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-gay-marriage-20110426,0,1391303.story Law firm quits marriage act case, a win for gay-rights groups]</ref> Soon after signing, the firm asked to withdraw from the case after facing criticism from gay rights groups, citing an "inadequate" vetting process.<ref name="nationallawjournal"/> 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."<ref name="Clementletter">[http://www.politico.com/static/PPM153_clement.html Paul Clement resignation letter]</ref> He added, "If there were problems with the firm's vetting process, we should fix the vetting process, not drop the representation."<ref name="Clementletter"/> Clement immediately joined [[Bancroft PLLC]], which took the case.<ref>[http://thehill.com/homenews/house/157565-law-firm-drops-contract-with-house-gop-to-defend-marriage-act GOP pushes on with marriage act defense after law firm backs out]</ref> ''[[The National Law Journal]]'' wrote, "[the turn of events] 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."<ref name="nationallawjournal"/>

The firm was widely criticized by those in the legal community on both sides of the [[Same-sex marriage in the United States|same-sex marriage]] issue for the decision; [[Attorney General of the United States]] [[Eric Holder]] compared the situation to the criticism of lawyers tasked with defending [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]] detainees, saying, "It was something we dealt with here in the [[United States Department of Justice|Department of Justice]]...The people who criticized our people here at the Justice Department were wrong then as are people who criticized Paul Clement for the representation that he’s going to continue."<ref name="washingtonpost">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/right-turn/post/former-and-current-ags-agree-king-and-spalding-messed-up/2011/03/29/AFH7uksE_blog.html Former and current AGs agree: King and Spalding messed up]</ref> 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."<ref name="washingtonpost"/> The decision shocked those lawyers involved in Supreme Court cases.<ref name="nationallawjournal">{{cite web |url=http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202491441908 |title=Clement departs King & Spalding after DOMA withdrawal |author=David Ingram, Tony Mauro |work=[[The National Law Journal]] |date=April 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2011}}</ref> [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[John Boehner]] issued a statement condemning the firm's "careless disregard for its responsibilities to the House in this constitutional matter."<ref>[http://www.rollcall.com/news/king__spalding_drops_doma_case-205128-1.html King & Spalding Drops DOMA Case]</ref> [[Theodore Olson]], Clement's predecessor as Solicitor General and a same-sex marriage supporter, said, "I don't know of anything comparable to this. You have to be willing to stand your ground."<ref name="LATimes"/>

''[[Talking Points Memo]]'' reported that Coca-Cola "directly intervened to press the firm to extricate itself from the case."<ref>[http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/04/behind-a-major-law-firms-decision-to-ditch-its-defense-of-doma.php Behind A Major Law Firm's Decision To Ditch Its Defense Of DOMA]</ref>

After King & Spalding dropped the case, [[Attorney General of Virginia]] [[Ken Cuccinelli]] terminated his office's relationship with the firm, writing in a letter to the firm that their "willingness to drop a client, the U.S. House of Representatives, in connection with the lawsuit challenging the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was such an obsequious act of weakness that I feel compelled to end your legal association with Virginia so that there is no chance that one of my legal clients will be put in the embarrassing and difficult situation like the client you walked away from, the House of Representatives."<ref>[http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/04/virginia-ag-cancels-king-spalding-work-after-obsequious-act-weakn Virginia AG cancels King & Spalding work for state after "obsequious act of weakness" in DOMA case] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522022643/http://washingtonexaminer.com/blogs/beltway-confidential/2011/04/virginia-ag-cancels-king-spalding-work-after-obsequious-act-weakn |date=May 22, 2011 }}</ref>  The National Rifle Association soon did the same.<ref>[https://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/05/02/king-spalding-loses-another-client-over-doma-decision/ King & Spalding Loses Another Client Over DOMA Decision]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.kslaw.com/ King & Spalding website]

{{DEFAULTSORT:King and Spalding}}
[[Category:Law firms established in 1885]]
[[Category:Law firms based in Atlanta]]
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox Law Firm
-| logo                      = [[Image:King & Spalding_logo.gif|200px]]
+| firm_name = King & Spalding LLP
-| headquarters             = SF; CA
+| firm_logo = [[Image:King-&-Spalding-smlogo.gif|200px|King & Spalding]]
-| num_offices              = 17
+| headquarters = [[1180 Peachtree]]<br>[[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]]
-| offices                  =
+| foundation = 1885
-| num_attorneys             = 1,005
+| num_offices = 17
-| num_employees            =
+| num_attorneys = 800
-| practice_areas           = General practice
+| practice_areas = General practice
-| established              =
+| revenue = {{profit}}$861.5 million [[United States dollar|USD]] (2013)
-| key_people                =
+| date_founded = 1885 ([[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]])
-| revenue                  = USD
+| company_type = [[LLP]]
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+| homepage = {{URL|http://www.kslaw.com}}
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-{{Law Firm Pay Scale
-| year            = 2017
+'''King & Spalding LLP''' is an American [[law firm]] with 129 years of service. It was founded in [[Atlanta, Georgia]] in 1885 by [[Alexander C. King]] and Jack Spalding. The firm has expanded nationally, with offices in Austin, Charlotte, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. The firm has a London-based international arm, '''King & Spalding International LLP''', which opened in 2003, and office or affiliates in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Moscow, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore and Tokyo.
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-}}'''King & Spalding LLP''' is an American [[law firm]] with 129 years of service. It was founded in [[Atlanta, Georgia]] in 1885 by [[Alexander C. King]] and Jack Spalding. The firm has expanded nationally, with offices in Austin, Charlotte, Houston, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, D.C. The firm has a London-based international arm, '''King & Spalding International LLP''', which opened in 2003, and office or affiliates in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Moscow, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore and Tokyo.
 On June 16, 2003, ''Corporate Board Member'' magazine named King & Spalding Atlanta's best corporate law firm for the second consecutive year, and in 2008, ranked the company among the top 20 law firms in the United States preferred by corporate general counsel to represent their companies on national matters.