Associates at law firms throughout the country distinguished themselves earlier this week by taking a stand for their profession in a very public way. And they outdid themselves. In fact, they outdid the adults in the room on one of the most important challenges to the rule of law to be seen in this country for a very long time.
It all started when the Administration targeted three top law firms, Covington & Burling, Perkins Coie, and Paul Weiss, with Executive Orders stripping members of those firms of security clearances, terminating the firms’ government contracts, and limiting access of law firm members to government buildings and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sent letters to twenty other leading law firms, seeking information about their employment practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The common factor among the targeted firms seems to be that they have provided representation to clients that the White House disdains. To date, Biglaw leadership in firms throughout the country has remained silent in response to these retaliatory actions, a common tactic that can be interpreted as fear that similar reprisals could be taken against their firms in the future. In a recent development, however, Paul Weiss has agreed with the White House on some key issues.
Enter the young lawyers. Hundreds of them, who became authors and signatories to an Open Letter to law firm leadership calling out the way that the Executive Branch of government is misusing the justice system to seek retribution against those on its “enemies list.” These brave young lawyers, undoubtedly recognizing their own vulnerability in taking such a stance, did so because it was the right thing to do. They called out the efforts of the Executive Branch for canceling firms based on their DEI initiatives and their clientele. In further detailing other retaliatory steps that followed from the Executive Orders, the signatories to the Open Letter also made it clear that, although their politics may vary, they are “united in their condemnation of the Administration’s intimidation tactics.”
The gauntlet has been thrown down. The next step is for law firm leadership and senior lawyers across the nation to acknowledge the risk these young lawyers have taken and to join them in defending the rule of law in America and the profession that protects it. The last paragraph of the Open Letter sums it up well:
When we are united, we cannot be intimidated. These tactics only work if the majority does not speak up. Our hope was that our employers, some of the most profitable law firms in the world, would lead the way. This has not been the case, but it still very much can be. It is easy to be afraid of being the first to speak. We are removing that barrier; we are speaking. Now it is our employers’ turn.”
I am so proud of these young people and all who will follow suit in condemning the unconstitutional and unethical actions of the Executive Branch. To date, one thing is crystal clear. The kids are definitely all right.
