Twenty-seven of America’s top law firms sent a stark warning to law school deans at 14 prestigious institutions: Curb antisemitism among your students or they will face employment issues after graduation.
The letter, sent on Wednesday and posted on social media the following day, notes the firms being “alarmed” at the growing number of antisemitic incidents on campuses, “including rallies calling for the death of Jews and the elimination of the State of Israel.”
Those activities “would not be tolerated at any of our firms,” the letter said. “We also would not tolerate outside groups engaging in acts of harassment and threats of violence, as has also been occurring on many of your campuses.”
None of the law schools that received the letter were named, but The New York Times’ DealBook column said the roster included “14 top institutions, along with others that have strong ties with the signatories.” The newspaper said students at the school “compete aggressively” for positions with the firms once they graduate.
Joel M. Petlin, superintendent of the Kiryal Joel School District in Orange County, New York, posted the letter on X, including an updated version with the 27 signatories listed.
Although there was no explicit threat that students engaging in such activities would not be employed by the law firms, the underlying message was clear.
“As employers who recruit from each of your law schools, 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 letter said.
“Everyone at our law firms is entitled to be treated with respect and be free of any conduct that targets their identity and is offensive, hostile, intimidating or inconsistent with their personal dignity and rights,” the letter said. “We prohibit any form of harassment, whether verbal, visual or physical.”
The law firms asked the schools to “take the same unequivocal stance against such activities as we do,” and said they expect “a respectful dialogue” with the schools to see how the issue will be addressed “with urgency.”
As of Thursday morning, the law firms signing the letter were: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP; Cooley LLP; Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP; Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP; Debevoise & Plimpton LLP; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP; Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Latham & Watkins LLP; McDermott Will & Emery LLP; Milbank LLP; Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popco, P.C.; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; O’Melveny & Myers LLP; Paul Hastings LLP; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP; Proskauer Rose LLP; Ropes & Gray LLP; Schulte Roth + Zabel LLP; Sidley Austin LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, and Katz; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP.
Online reaction was largely supportive. Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager who heads Pershing Square Capital Management, wrote on X, “It’s pathetic that we need to rely on law firms and corporations to police antisemitism on campus. None of them will hire racist students or those that support terrorists.”
Mr. Ackman said, “Every one of these universities, law schools and business schools have made massive recent investments in DEI initiatives, staff and faculty. Where are they? What are they doing?”
No public response to the letter has been posted by any law school as yet.