by
Win
McNamee/Getty
Images)
President
Donald
Trump’s
attacks
on
diversity,
equity,
and
inclusion
have
finally
hit
home
for
Biglaw
attorneys
thanks
to
a
new
executive
order.
In
a
move
that
could
seriously
disrupt
the
very
ecosystem
within
which
Biglaw
firms
exist,
Trump
has
directed
the
chair
of
the
Equal
Employment
Opportunity
Commission
to
“review
the
practices
of
representative
large,
influential,
or
industry
leading
law
firms
for
consistency
with
Title
VII
of
the
Civil
Rights
Act
of
1964.”
Specifically,
per
the
executive
order,
Trump
wants
the
EEOC
to
determine
the
following:
[W]hether
large
law
firms:
reserve
certain
positions,
such
as
summer
associate
spots,
for
individuals
of
preferred
races;
promote
individuals
on
a
discriminatory
basis;
permit
client
access
on
a
discriminatory
basis;
or
provide
access
to
events,
trainings,
or
travel
on
a
discriminatory
basis.
On
top
of
that,
Trump
has
asked
that
Attorney
General
Pam
Bondi
partner
with
the
EEOC
and
state
attorneys
general
to
to
investigate
Biglaw
firms
“who
do
business
with
Federal
entities
for
compliance
with
race-based
and
sex-based
non-discrimination
laws
and
take
any
additional
actions
the
Attorney
General
deems
appropriate
in
light
of
the
evidence
uncovered.”
While
this
section
of
the
order
doesn’t
name
the
law
firms
being
targeted,
in
remarks
given
from
the
Oval
Office
during
the
signing,
Trump
asked
an
aide,
“You’re
looking
at
about
15
different
firms?”
to
which
the
response
was,
“That
or
more
sir,
yes.”
Which
Biglaw
firms
may
be
at
the
top
of
Trump’s
list
when
it
comes
to
his
crackdown
on
all
things
DEI?
We
suppose
we’ll
find
out
soon.
In
the
meantime,
one
of
the
15
firms
that
is
being
specifically
targeted
is
Perkins
Coie,
which
brought
in
$1,211,295,000
gross
revenue
in
2023,
putting
it
at
No.
43
on
the
most
recent
Am
Law
100.
In
fact,
the
executive
order’s
name
is
“Addressing
Risks
from
Perkins
Coie
LLP,”
and
references
the
firm’s
alleged
“dishonest
and
dangerous
activity.”
Similar
to
what
happened
with
Covington
&
Burling,
where
certain
attorneys
lost
their
security
clearances,
the
order
“suspend[s]
any
active
security
clearances
held
by
individuals
at
Perkins
Coie,”
in
what
seems
to
be
a
retaliation
for
its
representation
of
past
presidential
candidate
Hillary
Clinton
and
its
reported
connections
to
the
Steele
dossier.
Trump
then
takes
a
deep
dive
on
Perkins
Coie’s
alleged
“racial
discrimination”
within
the
firm:
In
addition
to
undermining
democratic
elections,
the
integrity
of
our
courts,
and
honest
law
enforcement,
Perkins
Coie
racially
discriminates
against
its
own
attorneys
and
staff,
and
against
applicants.
Perkins
Coie
publicly
announced
percentage
quotas
in
2019
for
hiring
and
promotion
on
the
basis
of
race
and
other
categories
prohibited
by
civil
rights
laws.
It
proudly
excluded
applicants
on
the
basis
of
race
for
its
fellowships,
and
it
maintained
these
discriminatory
practices
until
applicants
harmed
by
them
finally
sued
to
enforce
change.
A
spokesperson
for
Perkins
Coie
said
that
Trump’s
executive
order
is
“patently
unlawful,
and
we
intend
to
challenge
it.”
What
will
this
mean
for
Biglaw
firms
going
forward?
As
previously
noted
by
Kent
Zimmermann,
principal
at
legal
strategy
firm
Zeughauser
Group,
“most
law
firm
leaders
do
not
want
to
unnecessarily
antagonize
or
become
a
target
for
the
administration.”
While
Biglaw
firms
certainly
remain
committed
to
diversity
and
inclusion,
some
have
already
begun
quietly
purging
diversity-related
language
from
their
websites.
While
we
don’t
know
for
certain
in
what
other
ways
firms
will
respond
under
these
circumstances,
what
we
do
know
is
that
Trump’s
war
on
diversity,
equity,
and
inclusion
is
likely
to
do
deep
damage
to
Biglaw
as
a
whole.
Addressing
Risks
from
Perkins
Coie
LLP
[White
House]
Trump
Targets
Law
Firms
Over
Steele
Dossier,
Diversity
Moves
(1)
[Bloomberg
Law]
Trump
Order
Calls
For
DEI
Policy
Review
of
‘Leading
Law
Firms’
[National
Law
Journal]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
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