The talk of Biglaw — well, besides the Biglaw Biter — is partner David Kreisler’s super short tenure at Mayer Brown. It took him just about two months to wash out at his new firm. Kreisler joined the fund formation practice at Mayer Brown in May, and was out by early July. The reason? Sexually charged posts on the artist formerly known as Twitter. (Think thinly veiled innuendo and comments designed to impress at 13-year-old boy.)
As detailed in this Medium post, Kreisler had a penchant for making a variety of inappropriate comments with his since-deleted X account. The Medium post also alleges Kreisler’s problematic social media presence was behind his departure from his previous firms (Sidley and DLA Piper — though there are reports Kreisler left Sidley on his own). And Mayer Brown is explicit this is the reason they ended their relationship with Kreisler. “We learned about the posts after the article was published,” a Mayer Brown spokesperson said in a statement. “We promptly terminated him as a partner once we became aware of the situation, and he is no longer affiliated with the firm.”
But like, HOW DID MAYER BROWN MISS THIS? They didn’t spare a glance at his social media? DOUBLE FUCKING NEWSFLASH in the year of our lord 2025 you have to check a potential partner’s online presence. This is basic shit that sororities have on lockdown.
Dan Binstock, a recruiter at Garrison, told Law.com that Mayer Brown is not the only Biglaw firm ignoring the social media elephant in the room. “I question how many firms do social media deep dives,” Binstock said. “Firms may get swept up in the process where they are attracted to a partner’s book of business and all the other things.”
It’s perhaps unfair to paint all of Biglaw as digital ostriches — hell, some go pretty damn far examining every social media post of even soon-to-be associates. As partner recruiter Jeffrey Lowe of CenterPeak notes, the Biglaw vetting landscape is so uneven you’re likely to twist an ankle, “Some firms are actively looking at social media profiles and the like when considering lateral partner candidates, but also I think many don’t and don’t have as sophisticated of a vetting process as others,” Lowe said. “If you were to survey the Am Law 100, you’d find a wide disparity in due diligence.”
Maybe this will be the wake up call *some* in Biglaw need — no matter how much of a rainmaker you think you’re getting, firms absolutely have to be aware of the digital footprint they’re getting with additions to their partnership.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Sororities Are Apparently Better At Vetting People Than Biglaw Firms appeared first on Above the Law.
The talk of Biglaw — well, besides the Biglaw Biter — is partner David Kreisler’s super short tenure at Mayer Brown. It took him just about two months to wash out at his new firm. Kreisler joined the fund formation practice at Mayer Brown in May, and was out by early July. The reason? Sexually charged posts on the artist formerly known as Twitter. (Think thinly veiled innuendo and comments designed to impress at 13-year-old boy.)
As detailed in this Medium post, Kreisler had a penchant for making a variety of inappropriate comments with his since-deleted X account. The Medium post also alleges Kreisler’s problematic social media presence was behind his departure from his previous firms (Sidley and DLA Piper — though there are reports Kreisler left Sidley on his own). And Mayer Brown is explicit this is the reason they ended their relationship with Kreisler. “We learned about the posts after the article was published,” a Mayer Brown spokesperson said in a statement. “We promptly terminated him as a partner once we became aware of the situation, and he is no longer affiliated with the firm.”
But like, HOW DID MAYER BROWN MISS THIS? They didn’t spare a glance at his social media? DOUBLE FUCKING NEWSFLASH in the year of our lord 2025 you have to check a potential partner’s online presence. This is basic shit that sororities have on lockdown.
Dan Binstock, a recruiter at Garrison, told Law.com that Mayer Brown is not the only Biglaw firm ignoring the social media elephant in the room. “I question how many firms do social media deep dives,” Binstock said. “Firms may get swept up in the process where they are attracted to a partner’s book of business and all the other things.”
It’s perhaps unfair to paint all of Biglaw as digital ostriches — hell, some go pretty damn far examining every social media post of even soon-to-be associates. As partner recruiter Jeffrey Lowe of CenterPeak notes, the Biglaw vetting landscape is so uneven you’re likely to twist an ankle, “Some firms are actively looking at social media profiles and the like when considering lateral partner candidates, but also I think many don’t and don’t have as sophisticated of a vetting process as others,” Lowe said. “If you were to survey the Am Law 100, you’d find a wide disparity in due diligence.”
Maybe this will be the wake up call *some* in Biglaw need — no matter how much of a rainmaker you think you’re getting, firms absolutely have to be aware of the digital footprint they’re getting with additions to their partnership.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
