by
Win
McNamee/Getty
Images)
The
list
of
institutions
willing
to
stand
up
to
a
lawless
administration
is
shorter
than
it
should
be.
But
an
open
letter
released
by
the
NYU
School
of
Law
faculty
offers
a
moral
and
professionally
ethical
guide
for
dealing
with
the
Trump
White
House
that
several
Biglaw
firms
would
be
well-served
to
consider.
Over
100
NYU
Law
professors
signed
the
clear-eyed,
defiant
message:
they
oppose
the
federal
government’s
attacks
on
academic
freedom,
legal
independence,
and
constitutional
norms.
In
a
world
where
even
conservative
commentators
are
calling
for
organized
uprisings,
a
statement
of
principles
might
sound
tame,
but
you
can’t
get
anywhere
without
knowing
where
you
stand
first.
This
is
a
declaration
of
resistance
from
inside
the
halls
of
a
school
that
sits
at
the
intersection
of
law,
power,
and
elite
career
pipelines.
The
Administration
has
pursued
executive
actions
targeting
universities,
their
faculties,
and
their
students
in
ways
that
undermine
academic
independence
and
the
free
exchange
of
ideas.
If
such
actions
continue,
the
damage
to
our
intellectual
communities,
which
depend
on
the
lawful
freedom
of
expression
and
open
exchange
of
ideas,
could
be
immense.
So
too
would
be
the
danger
to
basic
due
process
values
that
protect
each
and
every
one
of
us.
NYU
isn’t
an
outlier
bastion
of
radical
protest.
It’s
one
of
the
most
pipeline-heavy
law
schools
in
the
country,
sending
graduates
into
elite
Biglaw
firms
and
government
posts
on
greased
tracks.
As
an
institution,
NYU
could
tangibly
benefit
by
keeping
its
head
down
—
or
selling
out
completely
—
to
keep
its
graduates
in
good
stead
with
this
administration
and
its
lackey
firms.
And
its
faculty
in
their
individual
capacities
know
this
well.
This
is
an
environment
where
federal
judges
are
comfortable
organizing
boycotts
to
punish
students
to
bully
weak-willed
schools
into
concessions
—
to
think
the
administration
won’t
add
“don’t
hire
anyone
from
schools
we
don’t
like”
to
their
list
of
law
firm
demands
betrays
an
adorable
naiveté.
And
there
are
law
schools
out
there
right
now
gleefully
courting
authoritarianism
if
it
gets
them
an
extra
Aileen
Cannon
clerkship
to
report
to
US
News.
NYU
Law’s
professors
couldn’t
compromise
their
principles.
We
further
share
a
commitment
to
the
rule
of
law
and
to
the
role
of
lawyers
and
judges
in
preserving
that
rule
of
law.
As
the
American
Bar
Association
states
in
the
preamble
to
its
Model
Rules
of
Professional
Conduct,
“[a]n
independent
legal
profession
is
an
important
force
in
preserving
government
under
law,
for
abuse
of
legal
authority
is
more
readily
challenged
by
a
profession
whose
members
are
not
dependent
on
government
for
the
right
to
practice.”
The
Administration’s
executive
orders
targeting
individual
lawyers
and
law
firms
have
no
basis
in
law
and
are
contrary
to
the
protections
of
our
Constitution.
Requiring
lawyers
to
acquiesce
to
improper
demands
or
face
such
punishment
places
them
in
a
position
inconsistent
with
the
essential
role
of
lawyers
as
independent
advocates
for
their
clients.
NYU’s
faculty
also
puts
daylight
between
themselves
and
their
uptown
rivals
at
Columbia,
where
university
leadership
immediately
handed
the
administration
everything
it
asked
for,
only
to
find
the
White
House
return
with
even
bigger
demands.
It’s
not
going
to
reverse
the
damage
overnight.
But
there
is
a
kind
of
hope
here.
Because
if
NYU
Law
can
remember
its
spine
—
and
say
so,
publicly,
in
numbers
—
maybe
other
law
faculties
won’t
be
far
behind.
If
your
law
school’s
faculty
wants
to
step
up
to
the
plate
and
join
NYU,
let
us
know.
(Full
letter
on
the
next
page…)
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.