BigLaw Won’t Rep Gay Marriage Opponents

It’s a virtually unprecedented phenomenon, observes New York Times reporter Adam Liptak. Tobacco companies that claimed their product was harmless had no trouble hiring lawyers from the most prestigious big firms in the country. Nor did defenders of segregated schools. Major law firm attorneys are also representing Guantanamo prisoners, and back in the day even British soldiers accused of murder at the Boston Massacre had top-drawer representation, in the person of John Adams. But the big firms have uniformly shunned opponents of same-sex marriage. Liptak interviews commentators and a law firm managing manager to try to find out why.