by
David
Lat)
Nearly
a
month
ago,
it
was
revealed
that
Skadden
decided
to
ink
a
deal
with
the
Trump
administration
to
provide
$100
million
in
pro
bono
payola
to
avoid
one
of
the increasingly
common Executive
Orders
targeting
Biglaw,
and
the tremendous
harm that
can
bring.
But
that
wasn’t
the
only
strange
thing
afoot.
As
Above
the
Law
reported,
in
the
wake
of
the
controversial
deal,
the
Biglaw
firm
shut
off
associates’
ability
to
email
certain
mass
email
distribution
lists.
But
the
process
didn’t
go
as
dystopianly
as
they’d
planned,
as
the
plan
was
inadvertently
revealed
(via
mass
email,
because
irony
isn’t
dead)
as
firm
leadership
wondered
how
an
associate
was
able
to
send
an
innocuous
farewell
email
on
their
last
day
at
the
firm.
But
the
snafu
isn’t
just
bad
PR.
Yesterday,
the
National
Institute
for
Workers’
Rights
filed
an
unfair
labor
practice charge against
Skadden
with
the
National
Labor
Relations
Board
alleging
the
move
was
an
interference
with
associates’
rights.
As
the
filing
notes,
“Associates
used
firm
email
to
discuss
these
changes,
submit
resignations,
plan
coordinated
rejections
of
recruitment
activities,
and
express
concerns
about
the
impact
on
what
they
do,
with
whom
they
work,
and
their
ethical
obligations.”
As
reported
by
Bloomberg
Law:
For
example,
the
group
cited
NLRB precedent spanning
60
years
that establish concerns
about
hiring
and
diversity
practices
directly
relate
to
the
terms
and
conditions
of
employment.“In
expressing
concern
about
backing
away
from
diversity
initiatives,
some
Skadden
lawyers
were
indicating
that
they
thought
it
was
important
to
continue
to
try
to
hire
more
lawyers
of
color,”
the
group
said.
“The
caselaw
establishes
that
this
is
protected
concerted
activity.”
From
here,
agency
staffers
will
launch
a
probe
into
the
allegations,
and,
if
they
determine
there’s
merit
in
the
claims
the
regional
director
will
issue
a
complaint.
Of
course,
the
NLRB
is
currently
without
quorum
since
Trump
fired
Gwynne
Wilcox
—
a
move
that
is
being
challenged
in
court
—
though
the
board’s
work
(including
investigating
allegations
of
this
sort)
is
ongoing.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].