Attorneys representing a half-dozen U.S. gunmakers and a firearms distributor filed a joint motion to dismiss a claim filed by the Mexican government against the companies for facilitating the traffic of guns into a country wracked by violence. 

Andrew Lelling, the former Massachusetts U.S. attorney who oversaw prosecutions in the infamous “Varsity Blues” college admissions scandal and who in March joined Jones Day as a partner, filed the motion Monday on behalf of the gunmakers. Lelling and Jones Day partner Noel Francisco, former solicitor general of the United States during the Trump administration, are representing Smith & Wesson Brands in the lawsuit.