Careers
Skadden Partner Writes Gay Romance Novel
Posted Nov 13, 2008, 11:10 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has published a gay romance novel under a pen name, but he’s not shy about how Proposition 8 has affected him.
Gregory Smith, who works in the law firm’s Palo Alto, Calif., office, published his book A Matter of Choice under the name G. Carlos Smith, the Am Law Daily reports. It features a lawyer as one of the main characters and "considers the tragic effects of laws like Proposition 8 while offering a new hope,” according to the book’s publisher, P.D. Publishing.
Smith married his partner of 10 years after the California Supreme Court found that gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry. Since then California voters passed Proposition 8, which amends the state constitution to overturn the decision. He told the Am Law Daily he began writing the novel three years ago to talk about the consequences of anti-gay marriage propositions that were popular during the 2004 election.
He calls Proposition 8 “truly tragic” in the Am Law interview. “There is no question in my mind that this law formalizes a second-class citizenry among gay and lesbian people.”
Why the pen name? “Aside from the multiple personalities, G. Carlos Smith is a little more colorful,” he told the publication.
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