BigLaw Firms Join Gun Control Coalition, Pro Bono

Seven of the world’s biggest law firms have formed a coalition with gun control advocates to mount legal challenges against the gun lobby on a number of fronts, in a pro bono effort that the New York Times says is worth tens of millions of dollars in lawyer time. Strategies include: trying to overturn state laws that force businesses to allow guns on their property; challenging restrictions on publishing government data on gun violence; and possible antitrust lawsuits targeting gun company efforts to curb development of safety technology. The firms in the coalition are Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Covington & Burling; Arnold & Porter; O’Melveny & Myers; Dentons; Munger, Tolles & Olson; and Hogan Lovells. The Times notes that the firms can expect a lot of pushback, not only from the Trump administration, but from some of their own clients who are in or aligned with the gun industry. In a statement, some of the firms emphasized they supported the Second Amendment and favored gun rights, but believed there were ways to reduce gun violence while staying in accord with the Constitution. Meanwhile, says an article in the Washington Free Beacon, some gun groups have opened up a new front of their own, advocating a national concealed carry reciprocity bill, as part of a wish list that also includes a more gun-friendly Supreme Court and reform of silencer laws. One Congressman, North Carolina Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, said he will introduce a bill that would allow someone with a concealed carry permit in one state to carry in any other state.