"As an unrepentant, sometimes politically incorrect blogger, I'm generally all in favor of people shooting off their mouths. I instinctively cringe when I hear about how firms or companies try to curb their employees' right of free speech.
But the latest rants by Akin Gump partner Paul Mirengoff on the conservative blog Powerline are making me rethink my position. From the law firm's point of view, I can see how uncontrolled blogging lawyers could cost firms big bucks.
Here's what happened: Mirengoff, an employment law partner in the D.C. office, blogged about the memorial service for the victims of the recent Arizona shootings. In particular, reports Indianz.com (a Native American site), he mocked the prayer delivered by Carlos Gonzales, a member of an Arizona tribe. (Hat tip: ABA Journal blog.) Here's what he wrote:
It was apparently some sort of Yaqui Indian tribal thing, with lots of references to "the creator" but no mention of God. Several of the victims were, as I understand it, quite religious in that quaint Christian kind of way (none, to my knowledge, was a Yaqui). They (and their families) likely would have appreciated a prayer more closely aligned with their religious beliefs."
Get the Story:
Akin Gump Partner Strays Off the Reservation
(The Careerist 1/26)
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Media Matters:
Conservative media attack Yaqui memorial prayer (1/14)
Faith & Reason: Did Yaqui prayer at memorial
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Attorney:
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