The Minnesota Lawyer:

"...a group of attorneys working to get the amendment passed has been adding members and rolling out a campaign of its own. Lawyers for Marriage, a group affiliated with larger Minnesotans for Marriage, formed last month.

About 40 attorneys have joined, and organizers expect more to step forward. The group plans to do outreach, public speaking, and serve as a resource for attorneys and other Minnesotans on the Vote Yes campaign.

Kevin Conneely, the group’s chairman and an attorney at Leonard Street and Deinard in Minneapolis, freely admits that if it wasn’t for the number of high profile lawyers with “lofty titles” who have recently made public statements against the amendment, his group might not exist.

He said he’s against law firms making public stands on either side of the issue and believes the debate in legal circles could be more civil. Members of his group are as dedicated in their beliefs as those on the other side, Conneely said. The response from legal professionals, including those in outstate Minnesota, has been positive, he said.

“People on both sides of this issue should be able to talk freely about it, and we can disagree, but I think as lawyers we have a special role to play to help the public learn about the issue and about how a constitutional amendment works in our state. As a profession, we can’t appear to be partisan,” he said. “We can be a place where like-minded attorneys can go without trading on their firm name.”