Ben & Jerry’s hired top gun industry law firm

Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream condemned the gun industry following both the Parkland and Uvalde mass shootings, but records show the company hired a main gun industry law firm.

Shook Hardy & Bacon represents the top gun trade group & has long history with gun clients. Not only did Ben & Jerry’s hire Shook, it did so after it was public record that the firm was fighting a lawsuit by Parkland parents (document showing Shook’s representation of Ben & Jerry’s).

Shook’s website says it has spent “decades representing major players in tobacco, alcohol and firearms” and "long partnered with gun makers.” (Update: after KnowTheCEO reported this story the firm removed all mentions of its firearms work.) Shook is currently working with the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF), the gun industry’s primary trade association, to kill a New York state law that allows gun violence victims to sue gunmakers.

In 2018, Parkland parent Fred Guttenberg sued Smith & Wesson and Shook led the gunmaker's defense. This representation was public record in November 2019 when Ben & Jerry’s hired Shook, as was the firm’s long history of working with Colt, Remington Arms, and many other gunmakers.

Ben & Jerry's statements about Parkland and Uvalde condemn “officials who do the gun lobby’s bidding” and “big-moneyed special interests.” But one year after the Parkland shooting, Ben & Jerry’s hired Shook. The company could have hired any firm - but it chose one central to the gun industry's big-moneyed special interests.