[ad_1]
Some critics of Trump, including Republicans affiliated with the Lincoln Project, have indicated that they plan to pressure business clients of law firms representing the campaign to abandon the firms if they continue the fight in court on behalf of the president. In the petition filed Thursday at 11:53 p.m., attorneys for Porter Wright, Ronald Hicks and Carolyn McGee – who work in the firm’s Pittsburgh office – said the campaign was “in the process of retaining services and bringing in ‘other lawyers’ to take over the case. .
Lawyers said they and the campaign had agreed on the withdrawal, but Hicks and McGee were vague on why they were leaving.
“The plaintiffs and Porter Wright have come to a mutual understanding that the plaintiffs will be better served if Porter Wright steps down, and the current co-counsel and any other counsel that the plaintiffs may choose to engage to represent the plaintiffs in this matter,” indicates the folder.
It is very unusual for a large law firm to seek to withdraw its representation of a client in litigation so soon after opening. The lawsuit in question, before U.S. District Court Judge Michael Brann in Williamsport, Pa., Was filed just four days ago.
Since such a decision can harm a litigant’s case, the withdrawal requires Brann’s approval. Porter Wright’s attempt to walk out of the case comes as a series of briefing deadlines loom and Brann scheduled a pleading session for Tuesday and an evidentiary hearing Thursday over the campaign’s allegations of irregularities alleged in last week’s vote justify preventing Democratic-leaning counties from certifying vote totals.
Hicks and McGee did not immediately respond to a message Friday morning requesting comment on the development. In their application, they stated that the firm would meet its professional obligations when surrendering a client and “would otherwise take the necessary steps to avoid prejudicing the plaintiffs in this matter or to delay the consideration of this matter by the courtyard”.
A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign and a personal attorney for Trump also did not respond to requests for comment on the development.
If Brann allows Porter Wright’s attorneys to resign, the campaign will remain represented in the case by Philadelphia-based solo practitioner Linda Kerns.
Last week, another law firm representing the Trump campaign in a similar litigation – Arizona-based Snell & Wilmer – decided to withdraw from an election-related lawsuit because of its results. A judge granted the cabinet’s request on Tuesday.
Yet another law firm with close ties to the Trump administration, Cleveland-based Jones Day, has also come under pressure for its role in election disputes.
Last week, the company released a defensively worded statement stressing that its work on a high-profile election-related matter was not for the campaign but for the Pennsylvania Republican Party. The case, which is the subject of two pending Supreme Court applications, began several months before election day.
In that lawsuit, Jones Day called on justices to overturn and overturn a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling allowing the counting of ballots received until Friday of last week if they were postmarked on the day of the day. election or if they appear to have been posted by then.
Ahead of the election, the US Supreme Court blocked, 4-4, a request to block the state court’s decision. Last week, Judge Samuel Alito partially granted another Pennsylvania government request for an order requiring late ballots to be segregated from those that arrived before the polls closed. Alito referred the matter back to his colleagues for further action, but no further orders were issued on Friday morning.
[ad_2]
Source link