Dozens of junior associates from three Bay Space regulation places of work have joined a nationwide petition urging their bosses to combat again towards the Trump Administration’s claims that their variety hiring packages might violate federal civil rights legal guidelines.
To this point, the companions of Morrison Foerster primarily based in San Francisco, Cooley in Palo Alto and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, a British agency with a Redwood Metropolis workplace, have but to talk up publicly. Their places of work had been amongst 20 throughout the county that obtained letters final week from the federal Equal Employment Alternative Fee expressing concern that their hiring practices actively recruiting minorities and ladies quantity to reverse discrimination.
The junior associates didn’t signal their names to the nationwide petition that has been circulating on-line since final week to keep away from reprisals however included the names of their corporations and the 12 months they had been employed as an alternative. Others have joined in, together with attorneys with Palo Alto-based Wilson Sonsini and different Bay Space corporations that haven’t obtained the EEOC notices.
The petition, which has grown to greater than 1,600 entries this week, contends the civil rights inquiries are half of a bigger offensive by President Donald Trump towards regulation corporations that included govt orders concentrating on places of work he believes have been “weaponized” towards him in previous authorized circumstances.
In a single govt order, Trump threatened the safety clearances for New York agency Paul, Weiss, which has places of work in San Francisco. The agency was extensively excoriated when it made a take care of Trump final week to supply $40 million in professional bono work for his administration in return for Trump canceling the restrictions. One other main agency, Skadden Arps — whose former affiliate Rachel Cohen began the petition after she resigned final week — introduced Friday that it had made a take care of Trump as effectively, agreeing to do $100 million price of authorized work for the administration to avert an anticipated govt order concentrating on its professional bono work and variety packages.
Seattle-based Perkins Coie, with places of work in Palo Alto, nonetheless, is combating again, suing the administration after Trump referred to as the work it did for former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “dangerous and dishonest” and in an govt order suspended its authorities contracts and safety clearances.
“The President seeks to bully and intimidate federal judges, attorneys and law firms that disagree with him or take positions he does not like — undermining the American legal system built atop the U.S. Constitution he two months ago swore to uphold,” California Lawyer Common Rob Bonta, a Democrat, stated in a press release Wednesday. He joined 20 different state attorneys basic in issuing an open letter Wednesday urging the authorized group to unite towards Trump and “reaffirm their commitment to the zealous representation of their clients.”
It’s unclear why Cooley, Morrison Foerster and Freshfields had been singled out for his or her DEI packages or whether or not they had some other encounters with Trump that put them in his crosshairs.
However all through Trump’s marketing campaign, he has disparaged DEI measures as “woke” and has labored to dismantle them in govt orders all through authorities companies, together with the army. He and different conservatives argue they’ve changed benefit in hiring.
Like many main firms, all three Bay Space regulation corporations characteristic quite a few variety hiring packages, awards and objectives on their web sites.
Whereas regulation corporations consider these packages present they’re embracing civil rights legal guidelines, the EEOC stated “there is no ‘diversity’ exception” to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964‘s prohibitions against “discriminating against an individual because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.”
“The EEOC is prepared to root out discrimination anywhere it may rear its head, including in our nation’s elite regulation corporations,” appearing Chair Andrea R. Lucas stated. “No one is above the law — and certainly not the private bar.”
The EEOC letters, dated March 17 and signed by Lucas, asks the regulation corporations to supply names, genders, races, addresses, cellphone numbers, billable hours, affinity teams and compensation of all their attorneys and interns employed since 2019.
“At any point since 2019,” the letters ask, did any worker or recruiter point out the agency “was not seeking male or White candidates…?”
In her letter to the Cooley regulation agency, Lucas identified that on March 14 its “DEI Action Plan landing page” was not out there to the general public.
“Cooley’s sudden, overnight removal of its ‘board approved DEI plan’ from its public facing landing page gives me pause,” Lucas wrote. That plan, which EEOC workers had entry to earlier, had a objective of reaching 32% variety amongst attorneys and 37% variety in managers and administrators by January 2026, the letter stated.
This week, quite a few hyperlinks to variety pages are readily accessible on Cooley’s web site, the place it touts quite a few variety awards, fellowships and affinity teams. CEO Rachel Proffitt is quoted as saying that “when we embrace individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, we create a rich tapestry of ideas, experiences, and talents. This diversity sparks innovation, challenges the status quo, and propels us forward.”
Elliott Peters, a companion in San Francisco-based Keker, Van Nest and Peters, stated he’s not shocked the three Bay Space corporations aren’t speaking.
“The president’s the most powerful person in the world, and he’s ruthless and he said he wouldn’t weaponize the government, but that’s exactly what he’s doing,” stated Peters, whose agency issued its personal assertion towards Trump’s assaults. “That makes it even more important that lawyers link arms and stand up for the rule of law.”
Charles Jung, president of the Bar Affiliation of San Francisco, stated that this nation has a protracted custom of attorneys defending shoppers in politically charged and unpopular circumstances, from founding father John Adams representing British troopers after the Boston Bloodbath to Alexander Hamilton defending a Federalist journalist charged with libeling President Thomas Jefferson.
“Lawyers have to be free to represent any client, even unpopular ones, without that fear, and that’s how we as a profession ensure both access to justice and hold power accountable and even governmental power,” Jung stated.
Regardless of his personal agency’s dedication to variety, Peters stated he’s not afraid of changing into the following Trump goal by talking out now.
“I didn’t go to law school to sit and watch while our legal system gets deconstructed and lawyers get intimidated and judges get threatened,” he stated, “without standing up and resisting.”
