Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison

Three law firm partners and one corporate counsel, including a former U.S. solicitor general now at Hogan Lovells, are temporarily joining the Minnesota Attorney General's Office for the prosecution of the police officers who killed George Floyd.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Monday that Hogan Lovells partner Neal Katyal, Medtronic litigation and investigation counsel Lola Velázquez-Aguilu, Blackwell Burke founding partner Jerry Blackwell and Maslon partner Steven Schleicher will be serving as special assistant attorneys general on a pro bono basis.

"Out of respect for Judge Cahill's gag order, I will say simply that I've put together an exceptional team with experience and expertise across many disciplines. We are united in our responsibility to pursue justice in this case," Ellison said in a press release.

Ellison's office has charged former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin with second-degree and third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter, after Chauvin knelt on Floyd's neck May 25 as he handcuffed him, killing him. Three other former police officers have also been charged.

It's rare for established partners such as Katyal to join a prosecutor's office on a temporary basis for one case. Instead, the partnerships between law firms and prosecutors revolve around young associates; law firms want to bolster their trial experience, while prosecutors need more people to handle a never-ending caseload.

Big Law also used to be called in to represent cities when they're facing down civil rights probes from the U.S. Department of Justice, a practice that has been curbed under the Trump administration.

But Floyd's violent death in police custody led to an explosion of protests across the world and to law firms reexamining their own roles in fighting racial injustice and police brutality. One firm, Dorsey & Whitney, chose to end its relationship with city attorneys in Minneapolis out of concern that the misdemeanor prosecutions they assisted with had a disproportionate racial impact.

For its part, Hogan Lovells in June committed to working at least 65,000 pro bono hours through 2023 "to breaking down the deeply rooted, systemic barriers in society that profoundly impact people of color." The firm also committed to match up to $200,000 in donations made by its employees to groups that are fighting racial discrimination and injustice.

A firm spokeswoman declined to comment on Katyal's involvement in the Floyd prosecution, but Katyal on Twitter said he was "privileged" to join the case and "grateful to the attys from @HoganLovells⁩ & elsewhere on the team+my firm for their support. I'll have no further comment."

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