On February 27, 2022, I published the most recent edition of the Best Friends at the Bar Newsletter. If you are not a subscriber to the newsletter and would like to be, please sign up on the website at www.bestfriendsatthebar, and I will add you to the mailing list. It is a bi-monthly newsletter that addresses recent developments for women lawyers and also includes information addressing leadership and issues affecting all young lawyers. The distribution is more than 800 readers, and I would love to add you to that list.
In that most recent edition of the newsletter, I addressed the reality that many US law firms continue to operate in Russia, despite its invasion of Ukraine, and noted,
“There are so many competing interests in these days of unrest. Read this article about the involvements of Big Law in both Russia and Ukraine and the impact of those business relationships on our culture and beliefs. It is a reminder of the complications of a global society.”
Echoing those concerns, today I read an article, originally posted on LinkedIn by a Harvard Law 2L, where he explained why he walked away from a summer associate position at a NYC law firm out of his concerns that the law firm had significant connections to Russia and clients there. The student, Ryan Donahue, contacted the firm to register his convictions about the firm’s office in Moscow and its work for Russian banks and state-owned oil and gas companies. When the law firm spokesperson responded, making clear that the firm was not going to change its “status quo” of doing business in Russia, Ryan Donahue gave notice that he would not be participating in the firm’s summer program.
In a follow-up article, Donahue told Law.com that he did not want to be associated with anyone who is, in essence, funding the Putin regime. He further stated that it was an “extraordinarily easy choice to make.”
As you all know, it is pretty late in the game to be finding another internship for summer 2022. But this young man is willing to risk it. For his principles. For his values.
And the good news for him is that requests for his resume are pouring in from firms that respect the choice he made. Pretty impressive. I think this young man has a very bright future in the law.
And not just because he will be a Harvard Law grad. Also because he did not name the law firm. He has stated that the disclosure was not necessary for him to make his point.
