Late
last
week,
we
noted
that
K&L
Gates
made
some
edits
to
the
firm
website
over
the
last
month.
Specifically,
removing
several
references
to
diversity,
the
firm’s
Mansfield
pledge,
and
key
stats
about
firm
demographics.
The
firm’s
Diversity
and
Inclusion
committee
even
got
a
rebrand
as
the
Opportunity
and
Inclusion
committee.
It’s
the
sort
of
move
many
expected
firms
to
take
as
the
new
Department
of
Justice
publicly
announces
plans
to
use
its
power
to
prosecute
private
businesses
for
violating
its
vague
“anti-DEI”
principles,
which
in
practice
are
going
to
look
like
companies
being
dragged
into
a
USAO
conference
room
and
asked
to
specifically
justify
the
existence
of
anyone
on
staff
who
isn’t
a
white
guy.
A
firmwide
email
followed
attempting
to
explain
the
changes
to
attorneys
and
staff.
I
understand
it
is
the
start
of
the
weekend
for
many
of
you,
but
it’s
important
to
address
an
issue
that
is
front
and
center
for
K&L Gates leadership,
as
I’m
sure
it
is
for
many
of
you.
The
rollout
of
changes
to
language
on
our
Firm
website
regarding
diversity
was
not
handled
as
well
as
it
should
have
been.
Most
significantly,
we
should
have
taken
the
opportunity
to
inform
you
in
advance
of
what
changes
were
being
considered
and
why.
I
would
like
to
take
this
opportunity
to
start
that
conversation
–
and
we,
including
the
leadership
of
the
relevant
Committees
and
other
Firm
leaders,
also
plan
on
hosting
a
videoconference
soon
to
provide
additional
detail
and
perspective.
Generally
speaking,
“we
should
have
taken
the
opportunity
to
inform
you
in
advance
of
what
changes
were
being
considered
and
why”
means
“we
hoped
we
would
never
HAVE
to
inform
you.”
Maybe
that’s
not
the
message
the
firm
wants
to
send,
but
that’s
how
it
reads
from
the
outside
and
—
I’m
pretty
confident
—
the
inside
as
well.
The
email
explains
that
the
firm’s
commitment
to
these
issues
hasn’t
changed
even
if
the
website
has.
We
foreshadowed
this
sentiment
in
our
original
coverage,
expecting
the
firm
leadership
to
express
that
they
would
“remain
committed
to
these
causes
even
if
they’ve
pushed
that
commitment
to
harder-to-find
corners
of
the
site.”
But,
as
we
also
noted,
when
the
issue
is
inclusion,
downplaying
or
hiding
from
these
challenges
is
exclusionary
in
itself.
It
pushes
people
back
to
the
margins.
We
are
grateful
to
our
Opportunity
and
Inclusion
Committee,
our
Women
in
the
Profession
Committee,
various
related
groups
and
committees,
and
our
internal,
allied
professional
team
supporting
their
initiatives
and
efforts. These
conversations
can
be
challenging,
but
critical
to
upholding
our
values
and
preserving
our
culture.
For
example,
as
we
noted
in
the
last
piece,
the
firm
had
in
the
past
referenced
the
“Women
in
the
Profession
Committee,
Opportunity
&
Inclusion
Committee,
LGBTQ+
Subcommittee,
Disability
Inclusion
Taskforce,
and
Veterans
Taskforce.”
It
seems
the
LGBTQ+
Subcommittee,
Disability
Inclusion
Taskforce,
and
Veterans
Taskforce
all
got
demoted
to
“various
related
groups
and
committees.”
This
is
the
money
passage
though:
[T]he
website
changes
are
reflective
of
guidance
being
received
by
many
clients
and
others,
as
entities
understandably
are
taking
a
hard
look
at
how
to
preserve
their
values
amid
fluctuating
internal
and
external
expectations
and
to
ensure
they
remain
compliant
with
shifting
laws
and
regulations.
In
the
first
Trump
administration,
most
clients
saw
Trump
and
his
causes
as
a
toxic
stain
on
their
brands
and
didn’t
even
want
their
law
firms
tied
to
him.
This
time
around,
even
if
the
disdain
hasn’t
ebbed,
companies
are
worried
enough
about
the
existential
threat
of
a
vindictive
administration
to
play
ball.
K&L
Gates
may
or
may
not
harbor
that
fear,
but
the
“many
clients
and
others”
—
who
curiously
seem
to
have
had
more
of
a
hand
in
this
website
redesign
than
the
firm
rank-and-file
—
are
worried
enough
about
Trump
to
think
this
is
a
good
idea.
But
also,
full
credit
to
the
ominous
phrasing
of
“shifting
laws
and
regulations.”
(Email,
in
relevant
part,
reproduced
on
the
next
page…)
Earlier:
Biglaw
Firm
Quietly
Begins
Purging
Diversity
Language
From
Website
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