Ex-Porn Actor Is Now Ex-PoGo Lawyer
When Richard W. Merritt signed on as a staff attorney with Powell Goldstein more than a year ago, the law firm had to be impressed with his background: eight years as a Marine officer and a degree from the University of Southern California Law School.
Merritt didn't mention on his resume, however, that he had just won a publishing contract for a book, Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star, which appears in bookstores this week.
With the book's release date nearing, Merritt told his supervising attorney about it in early March, Merritt said. The firm fired him a few days later. The human resources director told him that, because of the book, they didn't believe he'd be able to serve clients as well as Powell Goldstein standards would require. . . .
[M]erritt said that he was openly gay at Powell Goldstein and that his sexual orientation was not an issue. He said he joined the firm because he understood it to be a progressive place where gay lawyers were welcome. McAlpin said the firm knew Merritt was gay when he was hired and stressed that his departure had nothing to do with his sexual orientation. He noted that Powel Goldstein's pro-diversity activities include gold-level sponsorship of the annual fund-raising gala for the Atlanta Human Rights Campaign, the local chapter of the nation's largest rights group for gay, lesbian and transgender people. . . .[M]erritt said he's received job offers from other law firms but is taking a hiatus from law for a book tour. He will be signing "Secrets of a Gay Marine Porn Star" in Atlanta at Outwrite Books on Wednesday. . . .
[M]erritt would like to continue practicing law but with a focus on public interest or civil rights work. "I'd go back into porn before I'd go back to work for a large law firm," he said cheerfully.
Details here from the Fulton County Daily Report via Law.com.