(NewsNation) — Paul Clement and Erin Murphy were once legacy partners at the well-known law firm of Kirkland & Ellis.

But after securing a win for their clients in the Supreme Court case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, a case whose ruling Thursday effectively made it legal to carry a gun in public nationwide, the attorneys were given a surprising ultimatum by Kirkland & Ellis: Withdraw from representing their clients or withdraw from the firm.

Murphy and Clement — who was the 43rd U.S. solicitor general under President George W. Bush from 2004 to 2008 — chose Option Two. They are now planning to launch their own firm.

The story is detailed in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal, in an opinion piece written by Clement and Murphy and cheekily headlined, “The Law Firm That Got Tired of Winning.”

“There was only one choice: We couldn’t abandon our clients simply because their positions were unpopular in some circles,” they write in the column.

Clement and Murphy go on to explain lawyers owe loyalty to their clients, and that it’s the least popular ones who are most in need of representation.

“The problems posed by the spate of recent gun crimes are real,” they write. “But the solution isn’t to fire clients who have just vindicated a fundamental constitutional right. We are sticking with our clients.”