NRA’s bankruptcy law firm has ‘divided loyalties,’ U.S. trustee says

By Sarah Lizee

Olympia, Wash., Feb. 17 – The National Rifle Association of America’s application to retain bankruptcy law firm Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors as special counsel drew an objection from Region 6 U.S. trustee William T. Neary, according to a Tuesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas.

“Not only should the application be denied because the broad scope of services to be provided do not fit within section 327(e)’s constraints, but [the firm] also has divided loyalties and conflicts of interest,” Neary said in his objection.

The U.S. trustee said these “disqualifying conflicts” are compounded by the firm’s failure to disclose them in the application and by the firm’s failure to disclose all of its pre-petition compensation.

“Each of these deficiencies is an independent basis to deny the application, and collectively they demonstrate that [the firm] is not eligible for employment by the NRA,” Neary said.

The company freely admitted that it filed its bankruptcy case primarily to address the New York attorney general lawsuit filed in August 2020 against the NRA.

“Twenty paragraphs of that lawsuit relate to allegations of billing improprieties by [the firm] in its NRA representations that were raised by a former NRA president and four NRA board members,” the U.S. trustee stated.

“Thus, the NRA seeks to retain BAC to represent it on the very matter that precipitated the filing of these bankruptcy cases and in which BAC’s conduct is directly at issue.”

Neary added that William Brewer, the only named partner of the bankruptcy law firm, is married to Skye McQueen Brewer, the sister of Ackerman McQueen’s chief executive officer, Revan McQueen and the daughter of the late CEO and long-time patriarch of the firm that bears his name, Angus McQueen.

“Ackerman McQueen is the NRA’s largest creditor, a defendant in three lawsuits brought by the NRA, and a co-defendant with the NRA in another action brought by the State of New York,” the U.S. trustee said.

In addition to the New York attorney general and Ackerman McQueen litigation, the application identifies 12 other litigation matters and nine other categories of tasks for which the NRA seeks to employ the firm.

“Although the NRA seeks to employ [the firm] under section 327(e) with its narrower scope of disqualifying adverse interests, BAC does not qualify as section 327(e) counsel because of the broad scope of the services it has provided – and will continue to provide post-petition – for the debtors,” Neary said.

The gun rights advocacy group filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Jan. 15 under case number 21-30085.

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