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Elite law firms send a
message
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With universities
across the United States grappling with a rise in antisemitism since the
start of the Israel-Hamas war, elite law firms are putting schools on
notice. In a letter to some of the nation’s top law schools obtained by
DealBook, about two dozen major Wall Street firms warned that what happens
on campus could have corporate consequences.
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“We look to you to
ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are
prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero
tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less
the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses,” the firms
wrote.
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Among
the firms that signed the letter are:
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- Cravath, Swaine & Moore
- Debevoise & Plimpton
- Kirkland & Ellis
- Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
- Skadden
- Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
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Another signatory, Davis Polk
& Wardwell, last month rescinded job offers over letters blaming Israel
for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
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The
letter follows a series of recent antisemitic episodes at universities. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New
York sought this week to reassure Jewish
students at Cornell after
online posts threatening violence against them. Students at other schools
have said they feel increasingly
unsafe amid rallies and
other acts that, in some instances, have become violent.
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And school leaders have been
criticized for equivocating in their responses to both the Oct. 7 Hamas
attacks on Israel and to antisemitism more broadly. (The University of
Pennsylvania, which has faced a donor revolt, yesterday announced measures
that include a task force on antisemitism.)
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Big
Law carries huge clout. Students
at the schools that received the letter — 14 top institutions, along with
others that have strong ties with the signatories — compete aggressively
for jobs at the firms after graduation. And deans keep a close eye on job
placement statistics.
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School officials “were
late to getting that Jewish students are actually scared — they feel
threatened, and they feel betrayed,” Joe Shenker, the senior chair of
Sullivan & Cromwell who spearheaded the letter, told DealBook.
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Many
firms say that on-campus statements matter beyond school, especially as students
graduate to client-driven businesses. The firms behind the letter urged
schools to take this more into account when formulating academic policies.
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“It is imperative that
you provide your students with the tools and guidance to engage in the free
exchange of ideas, even on emotionally charged issues, in a manner that
affirms the values we all hold dear and rejects unreservedly that which is
antithetical to those values,” they wrote.
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