There’s a lot of anger directed at Biglaw — and not just from the Trump administration. Faced with existential attacks from the executive branch, too many firms in Biglaw are trying to hide (or worse, appease Trump) rather than fight. And there are open letters, protests, and resignations from those infuriated at all the wealthy firms that are not standing up for the rule of law and for diversity efforts that are also under attack.
And there’s agitation for associates to organize in a more concrete effort.
Former Skadden associate Rachel Cohen told Law.com associates are thinking about hitting Biglaw where it hurts — in recruiting:
“A number of associates at a number of firms are talking about doing recruitment strikes if firms do not commit to not complying with the EEOC’s demands,” Cohen said. “Firms are very reliant on associates being able to do interviews themselves most of the time. That’s an element where we have a lot of agency that comes with not a lot of risk to one’s career.”
That low-risk-to-their-own-career thing, while not the most inspiring, might be key to the collective action. Because as little support as the Paul Weiss approach has amongst associates, just quitting is tough in the current job market. “There’s not a robust lateral market right now,” one recruiter who works with associates told Law.com. Which mirrors the dilemma Paul Weiss faced before they capitulated to Trump. Of course, Paul Weiss has billions in revenue to insulate through the difficulties of actually standing up to do the right thing.
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].