{"id":110667,"date":"2025-03-17T17:03:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-18T01:03:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/03\/17\/hundreds-of-associates-sign-open-letter-calling-on-biglaw-leaders-to-defend-the-legal-profession\/"},"modified":"2025-03-17T17:03:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T01:03:01","slug":"hundreds-of-associates-sign-open-letter-calling-on-biglaw-leaders-to-defend-the-legal-profession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/03\/17\/hundreds-of-associates-sign-open-letter-calling-on-biglaw-leaders-to-defend-the-legal-profession\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds Of Associates Sign Open Letter Calling On Biglaw Leaders To \u2018Defend\u2019 The Legal Profession"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Trump administration is openly targeting Biglaw firms for their representation of clients and causes adverse to the president\u2019s political agenda. Three top firms \u2014 Covington & Burling<\/a>, Perkins Coie<\/a>, and Paul Weiss \u2014 have found themselves on the receiving end of Trump\u2019s retaliatory (and likely unconstitutional) executive orders, which strip attorneys of their security clearances, terminate the firms\u2019 government contracts, and limit attorneys\u2019 access to government buildings.<\/p>\n

To date, Biglaw leadership has remained silent<\/a> on these issues, likely for fear that their firms could be next, but associates are growing incredibly concerned \u2014 and hundreds of them have had enough.<\/p>\n

Biglaw associates from Am Law 200 firms across the country are now demanding a response from law firm leaders in an open letter that\u2019s been anonymously signed by more than 300 attorneys (and counting). Although their names have been omitted from their signatures, these associates have included their firm names and class years. Thus far, these associates hail from firms like Akin, Cleary Gottlieb, Davis Polk, Debevoise, Goodwin, Hogan Lovells, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham, Morgan Lewis, Quinn Emanuel, Skadden, Sullivan & Cromwell, and more. Here\u2019s an excerpt from that letter:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe call on our employers, large American law firms, to defend their colleagues and the legal profession by condemning this rapid purge of \u2018partisan actors,\u2019 a group that seems to be synonymous with those the president feels have wronged him,\u201d the letter states. \u201cOur politics and feelings about the industry and its path forward are varied. But we are united in our condemnation of the administration\u2019s intimidation tacts, viewpoint discrimination, and attempts to weaponize the executive [branch] against the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope was that our employers, some of the most profitable law firms in the world, would lead the way,\u201d the letter says. \u201cThat has not yet 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\u2019 turn.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rachel Cohen, a third-year finance associate at Skadden, worked to put the letter together. Here\u2019s what she had to say in an interview with the American Lawyer<\/a>, noting that she was not speaking on the firm\u2019s behalf:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf the firms are hoping to ignore this because partnerships are concerned about repercussions,\u201d Cohen said, \u201cthere was utility in flagging to the partnerships \u2014 that\u2019s not where the associates are and we\u2019re very concerned about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re not leveraging this position to say that this is unacceptable like the ABA did, like midsized [firm] lawyers and other public interest attorneys have done, that\u2019s not just a huge missed opportunity but a pretty big threat for the way the American legal system is supposed to function,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

On her LinkedIn page<\/a>, Cohen is even more explicit, writing, \u201cTrump is taking an enormous gamble by targeting some of the most powerful lawyers in the country first. With effective coordination, we could easily resist him. But as yet, his gamble is paying off. I will not watch the legal system collapse from my window office 4000 feet off the ground and stay silent out of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s time for Biglaw leaders to publicly speak out about the way the Trump is misusing the justice system in order to seek retribution against those he deems to be his enemies. Congratulations to these brave associates for stating their case on the record \u2014 hopefully those who lead their firms will heed their calls to defend of the rule of law in America.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in signing the open letter.<\/p>\n

Open Letter From Big Law Associates Calls for Law Firms \u2018To Defend Their Colleagues\u2019<\/a> [American Lawyer]<\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Hundreds Of Associates Sign Open Letter Calling On Biglaw Leaders To \u2018Defend\u2019 The Legal Profession<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Trump administration is openly targeting Biglaw firms for their representation of clients and causes adverse to the president\u2019s political agenda. Three top firms \u2014 Covington & Burling<\/a>, Perkins Coie<\/a>, and Paul Weiss \u2014 have found themselves on the receiving end of Trump\u2019s retaliatory (and likely unconstitutional) executive orders, which strip attorneys of their security clearances, terminate the firms\u2019 government contracts, and limit attorneys\u2019 access to government buildings.<\/p>\n

To date, Biglaw leadership has remained silent<\/a> on these issues, likely for fear that their firms could be next, but associates are growing incredibly concerned \u2014 and hundreds of them have had enough.<\/p>\n

Biglaw associates from Am Law 200 firms across the country are now demanding a response from law firm leaders in an open letter that\u2019s been anonymously signed by more than 300 attorneys (and counting). Although their names have been omitted from their signatures, these associates have included their firm names and class years. Thus far, these associates hail from firms like Akin, Cleary Gottlieb, Davis Polk, Debevoise, Goodwin, Hogan Lovells, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham, Morgan Lewis, Quinn Emanuel, Skadden, Sullivan & Cromwell, and more. Here\u2019s an excerpt from that letter:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe call on our employers, large American law firms, to defend their colleagues and the legal profession by condemning this rapid purge of \u2018partisan actors,\u2019 a group that seems to be synonymous with those the president feels have wronged him,\u201d the letter states. \u201cOur politics and feelings about the industry and its path forward are varied. But we are united in our condemnation of the administration\u2019s intimidation tacts, viewpoint discrimination, and attempts to weaponize the executive [branch] against the rule of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur hope was that our employers, some of the most profitable law firms in the world, would lead the way,\u201d the letter says. \u201cThat has not yet 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\u2019 turn.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Rachel Cohen, a third-year finance associate at Skadden, worked to put the letter together. Here\u2019s what she had to say in an interview with the American Lawyer<\/a>, noting that she was not speaking on the firm\u2019s behalf:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf the firms are hoping to ignore this because partnerships are concerned about repercussions,\u201d Cohen said, \u201cthere was utility in flagging to the partnerships \u2014 that\u2019s not where the associates are and we\u2019re very concerned about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re not leveraging this position to say that this is unacceptable like the ABA did, like midsized [firm] lawyers and other public interest attorneys have done, that\u2019s not just a huge missed opportunity but a pretty big threat for the way the American legal system is supposed to function,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

On her LinkedIn page<\/a>, Cohen is even more explicit, writing, \u201cTrump is taking an enormous gamble by targeting some of the most powerful lawyers in the country first. With effective coordination, we could easily resist him. But as yet, his gamble is paying off. I will not watch the legal system collapse from my window office 4000 feet off the ground and stay silent out of fear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s time for Biglaw leaders to publicly speak out about the way the Trump is misusing the justice system in order to seek retribution against those he deems to be his enemies. Congratulations to these brave associates for stating their case on the record \u2014 hopefully those who lead their firms will heed their calls to defend of the rule of law in America.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> if you\u2019re interested in signing the open letter.<\/p>\n

Open Letter From Big Law Associates Calls for Law Firms \u2018To Defend Their Colleagues\u2019<\/a> [American Lawyer]<\/p>\n

\n
\"Staci
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Trump administration is openly targeting Biglaw firms for their representation of clients and causes adverse to the president\u2019s political agenda. Three top firms \u2014 Covington & Burling, Perkins Coie, and Paul Weiss \u2014 have found themselves on the receiving end of Trump\u2019s retaliatory (and likely unconstitutional) executive orders, which strip attorneys of their security […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":110668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Staci-Zaretsky-KoOmSX.jpeg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}