Some Things are More Important than Corporate Law

Sometimes it can feel that there is nothing more important than work. And the role that commercial lawyers play in facilitating global trade and fighting for justice are more important that most people realise. But very occasionally, lawyers take perspective, and the daily practice of corporate law is dwarfed by the issues of the day.

I'm Paul Hodkinson, Editor-In-Chief of Law.com International, bringing you this week's edition of The Global Lawyer.

It has been six weeks since Hamas’ attack on Israel. And Israel’s response in Gaza could continue for a while yet. The legal industry, usually known for its quiet impartiality, has been unable to ignore the conflict, and there is plenty of division even within the industry.

There was understandable outrage following the Hamas attacks on October 7. Several law firms released statements detailing their shock and denouncing antisemitism. In the U.S., about 5,000 lawyers signed a letter supporting Israel’s right to defend itself.

Davis Polk & Wardwell rescinded job offers to some students, as did Winston & Strawn, following controversy around student organization statements. Dentons released its own statement, only to withdraw it and release a new one that also acknowledged Palestinian victims.

Then last week Sidley Austin fired one of its New York associates after she wrote and published a letter that ran afoul of certain of the firm’s policies.

Some lawyers told Krishnan Nair they fear facing “career-ending” repercussions for expressing views that are perceived to oppose or contradict their firms’ statements. One Am Law top 20 partner said law firm diversity and inclusion policies were being breached, as firms showed zero tolerance for diversity of opinion.

It follows almost 700 Canadian lawyers, professors and law students this month signing an open letter calling the backlash against pro-Palestinian voices within the legal profession and academia a “new McCarthyism”.

Others defend the strong actions of law firms. Commenting on the way firms have responded to certain statements, one New York partner said: “What to some might seem innocuous, well-intentioned or even humanitarian actually carries deeply antisemitic undertones.”

For anyone in any doubt about the kind of antisemitic acts happening right now, last week Habiba Cullen-Jafar reported that associates at Slaughter and May and Morrison & Foerster were subjected to an antisemitic attack on a London bus, amid a spike in such offences, according to the police.

In a social media post the Slaughters associate wrote: “To my non-Jewish friends and colleagues-please understand that this is the reality for Jewish people right now. Please do not look away. Please do not stay silent.”

Some fear that the open hostility in society will continue to spill over into the legal profession...

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