Practicing law is a business. And when American companies need legal services, they treat the decision about who to hire as a business decision. Companies reluctant to fund lawsuits that promote left-wing policies should also ask another question: Is the money I pay companies seeking my work a subsidy for liberal pro bono projects? Will it be used as?

a new research The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy emphasizes the need to ask this question. I'm referring to “Ideological Trends in Pro Bono Potential Big Law Court Briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court” by University of Notre Dame law professor Derek Mueller. In this survey, the “AMLaw 100,'' the 100 largest law firms in the United States, examines their positions on pro bono briefs before the Supreme Court.

According to Mueller's research, from the October 2018 period to the October 2021 period, these companies submitted approximately 850 preparations that were “likely to be made gratis.” In approximately two-thirds of cases, these briefs take a “liberal” position. And things get even more skewed in the most high-profile cases, such as issues of the Second Amendment, abortion, and sexual orientation. In these cases, AMLaw100 companies submit pro bono briefs and support liberal policy positions 95% of the time.

This data is encouraging. But this should come as no surprise to those of us in the legal profession.King & Spalding paul clement Clement, the greatest Supreme Court defender of his generation, parted ways after agreeing to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. About 10 years later, we realized. paul clement is gone kirkland & Ellis It was so he could continue his Second Amendment case. We are aware that Mr. Hogan Lovells is under suspicion. The former head of bankruptcy affairs was fired. after she made comments defending Dobbs' decision.

I was able to continue.

And beyond these examples, it is no secret that the politics of lawyers at America's largest law firms are significantly more to the left than the American people. another study Author Derek Mueller uses political donations as a proxy to establish that point.

Considering all this, it's no surprise that companies are willing to offer their services free of charge to support causes supported by the overwhelming majority of their partners.

But it is well known that those in charge of hiring outside counsel are subsidizing their efforts by hiring what Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia called “high-rise lawyers.” It's not really clear to me whether I'm aware of it or not.

Mueller's research should help drive home this point.

Companies resistant to subsidizing left-wing legal work have options. First of all, not all big law firms are the same. Professor Muller's paper makes this clear. Some companies, such as Paul Weiss, did not submit briefs supporting positions coded as “conservative” by Professor Mueller's dataset. And the big laws are generally very biased in the same direction. However, a small number of companies, such as Jones Day, applied with roughly equal support for “conservative” and “liberal” positions. The general counsel is free to ask questions about the company's pro bono work in the future.

Of course, general counsel has other options outside of big law. Over the past decade or so, a growing number of top conservative lawyers have left Big Law (or avoided the practice after working in government) and joined or started specialty firms. At these firms, lawyers can work hard without fear that the money they earn will be used to fund activities they do not support (and cannot morally support). Additionally, businesses that are reluctant to fund such initiatives can then pay their bills without worrying about being able to fund such initiatives.

There are many examples of such companies. Paul Clement and his longtime colleague Erin Murphy, herself an elite Supreme Court lawyer, founded Clement & Murphy. Consovoy McCarthy, Lehotsky Keller Cohn, and Stone Hilton are also boutiques of experienced and well-qualified attorneys, many of whom are former Supreme Court clerks and state attorneys general. , either left Big Law in favor of a boutique job or refused to join.

When I resigned as Ohio's attorney general in October, I followed this path myself and joined the Ohio-based boutique Ashbrook Vern Kresge.

Perhaps some corporate America wants to subsidize left-wing lawsuits. But for those who don't, there's no need for that.

Benjamin Flowers is a partner at Ashbrook Vern Kresge, a former Ohio attorney general and former law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.