The contract hiring King & Spalding‘s Paul Clement to represent the U.S. House in same-sex marriage litigation allows for the firm to collect as much as $500,000 in fees, though the sides could raise that cap if the House hits it before the lawsuits end. A copy of the contract was released yesterday by the office of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., a day after Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, declined to do so.
The five-page contract sets out a “blended rate” of $520 per hour for the services of King & Spalding’s legal team, led by Mr. Clement, a former U.S. solicitor general who heads the firm’s appellate practice. Others on the case include partners Daryl Joseffer and Jeffrey Bucholtz, according to the contract and court papers filed late Monday. Mr. Clement and the House’s general counsel, Kerry Kircher, signed the agreement on April 14, and it runs until the litigation is over or until January 2013, unless they agree to an extension.
