Biglaw

Biglaw Firm Withdraws From Election Litigation Before They Get Jones Day-ed

A Biglaw firm's reputation is a valuable -- and fragile -- thing. UPDATE: It looks like the firm made the right call.

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Check out the update at the end of the story.

Biglaw is sure getting a crash course in brand management. The vagaries of elite legal representation is usually considered niche news, if it’s really news at all. At Above the Law — a publication that makes its nut documenting (and ridiculing) the minutia of Biglaw — we’re sure enjoying the rest of the world taking a long hard look at Biglaw.

There was the New York Times article blowing up Jones Day (and Porter Wright) over their election litigation representations. Then there was Jones Day’s lackluster response to the controversy. And there was the Lincoln Project promising to spend $500,000 on an ad campaign going after them — and, importantly, their clients — over the representation. And then the MeidasTouch PAC actually released a Jones Day attack video.

Man, repeating the shitstorm that’s been raining down on Jones Day over the past few days just does not get old.

Toward that end, Snell & Wilmer recently withdrew from their role in an Arizona case alleging voting improprieties. The case seeks a manual review of in-person purported overvoted ballots, as well as a delay on certification of the results. The Arizona Secretary of State describes the case as “grasping at straws.” But that’s not Snell & Wilmer’s problem any more.

As reported by Reuters Legal:

Associate Presiding Civil Judge Daniel Kiley on Tuesday granted Snell & Wilmer’s request to withdraw as counsel of record for the Republican National Committee. The RNC had teamed-up with the Trump campaign and the Arizona Republican Party in the case, which alleges that Maricopa County incorrectly rejected some votes cast on Election Day.

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Though Snell & Wilmer hasn’t commented on the withdrawal, there are plenty of people connecting the dots and surmising that the firm got out while the getting was good.

Now, Snell made the motion to withdraw on Sunday, before the Jones Day pile on really began in earnest. But it’s not like this was unexpected — we’ve been calling Jones Day out on using the courts to contest the election for over a month, since, you know, the president said this was his plan well before November 3rd. And the whole thrust of the Times article, which really got the ball rolling, was that there’s internal discord and concern that repping the president/GOP is “shortsighted” at Jones Day and Porter Wright. It’s not a far leap to assume another firm’s fearful that a case like the Arizona litigation could harm their reputation.

Maybe Jones Day could use a little of that foresight.

UPDATE: Looks like Snell made the right call. MeidasTouch founder Ben Meiselas, which already put out a Jones Day video, says they were ready to go after Snell before they withdrew:

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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