Students of Conscience, This Is Your Moment
Dissenting on principle matters more now than ever
Pregame: I just reviewed Abundance, the new book from Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson. My main critique was that the abundance agenda won’t go far without an advocacy plan or acknowledgment of the right’s hostility to it. Give it a read!
Also - corporate sponsors have withdrawn their support of Pride St. Louis this year, putting the event in jeopardy. Please consider a donation today. More details in the postgame.
These are dangerous times, and each time we let institutions surrender to bullying from Trump, the threat to democracy becomes more serious. Two extremely troubling stories from last week were Columbia University and corporate law firm Paul Weiss caving to unprecedented administration demands in return for getting off of Trump’s enemies list. This specific moment calls for students of conscience to band together and make themselves heard.
The Problem: That two prestigious institutions could fold so easily sent a dispiriting message to those of us with less power and resources. Especially disheartening is how few university presidents came to Columbia’s aid, and how few law firms stood up for Paul Weiss; we simply can’t count on those with power and prestige to lead.
The Solution: We need to organize ourselves in ways that will require bravery, and bravery is more easily summoned when we stand together. If you look at movements across world history, students have played a major role in fomenting dissent against oppression, but it’s been a while since it happened here. This is a gameplan for how college and law students can stand up and organize in this moment, with ripple effects that will help other people find their courage.
This is a moment for college students. Let’s start with Columbia. The university that once prided itself for its role in promoting free speech agreed to more aggressively police its students and allowed a takeover of its Middle Eastern studies program. I strongly believe this decision was driven by the Board of Trustees, and at elite universities, the Board is generally composed of Fortune 500 executives who write big checks to their alma maters. Whether or not these people support Trump, they are not interested in costing their university millions so they can protect activist speech. Understand that for them, this was an easy decision. But it doesn’t have to be for students.
Why are universities under attack? Let’s be very clear about why the Trump administration is going so hard after universities - the right has long seen them as hotbeds of liberal thought and cultural power. This is still a country that deeply values the accreditation these institutions provide, and the right can’t stand that they tend to produce liberal graduates. There are at least 60 universities under investigation by the Trump administration for alleged antisemitism, and another 50 under investigation over “DEI programs.” One friend who works at a prominent college told me that his series on Black artists would have to be discontinued, because his administrators were so nervous about hosting a “DEI” program that would get their federal funding cut off.
What can students do? Board members may buckle, and university presidents may quiver, but students don’t have to stand for this nonsense. Stand up to Trump and make clear that threats to free speech will not stand. Protest on the green, in the classroom, and in every space where you can reach more of your fellow students. You will find lifelong friends in the students who stand with you. The American university system is the best in the world, and its collective power will not be easy for this administration to destroy. Don’t make it easy for them. Your taking action will be an inspiration to the country.
It’s perfectly understandable for students to feel nervous at this moment, as they watch schools like Columbia expel their peers for activism, but there are ways to strengthen your position. For example, unite around broad principles, like the right to free speech, that could draw in a broad swath of campus. Refrain from violence. (Personally, I don’t think violence is persuasive, and it risks criminalizing movements.) Begin with the most civil tactics, like asking for a meeting with your university president, escalating as reasonable demands go unmet. I hesitate to overprescribe, because smart young people know what will be most effective in moving their own cohort, but my point is that standing up for what’s right here doesn’t require a zero to sixty acceleration into the most confrontational type of protesting. Just standing up at all will make an impact on the people closest to you. Unfortunately, the hostile treatment of foreign students means those students should tread very carefully - but all the more reason their American friends and classmates should stand up for them!
This is a moment for law students and young lawyers. Law students don’t have the same historical reputation for activism, but this is their moment too. Last week, the head of Paul Weiss went to DC to grovel for forgiveness for representing clients that challenged the Trump administration and other causes Trump personally dislikes. Last year the firm generated $2.6 billion in legal fees from more than 1,000 lawyers across the country. It not only has long counted itself as one of the country’s top corporate firms, it has specifically sold itself as a home for liberal lawyers, the type of people who vote and fundraise for Democrats, but really need to pay for their kid’s private school and second home in the Hamptons.
If I learned anything during my brief stint in BigLaw, it’s that the typical corporate lawyer in New York’s elite firms is very book smart, mildly liberal, loosely interested in politics, and not interested in rocking the boat. When you get into the junior associate ranks, you’ll find more interesting personalities, folks who are just trying to make a buck to pay off their student loans for a few years. People in this group hold their nose at the awful clients these firms represent, try to not get put on the most heinous cases, and commit themselves into pro-bono work, which can be genuinely important. (I billed hundreds of hours to a successful housing discrimination lawsuit against Garden City, Long Island.) These junior associates make a ton of money for their firms, and I’m betting a bunch of them are pretty angry at the Paul Weiss situation.
Why are law firms under attack? BigLaw firms may represent some despicable clients, but their partners play key roles in maintaining bar associations, become future judges, and in some cases donate heavily to Democrats. There are dozens of similar-sounding firms, and they tend to move together like those schools of fish on nature shows, like when they collude to set salary levels. Because there are so many wealthy, politically-connected partners from both parties at these firms, they could actually show some solidarity for the rule of law and legal profession by standing together. Instead, according to Politico, “Virtually no one with any long-term standing in the private legal community is willing to speak publicly about it, partly out of fear that they or their firms could wind up in Trump’s crosshairs.” Only a few have put out statements, and virtually none of the big players. This is because they are petrified of losing clients, which hurts their considerable pay. Trump understands this weakness, and he very specifically is going after the most “liberal” of these corporate law firms, knowing that if they buckle, others won’t even try to resist. He also knows that his incursions into the basic rule of law is constrained by the courts, but only so insofar as there are lawyers willing to bring expensive, complex, pro-bono cases to challenge them.
What can young lawyers do? Because BigLaw firms are so similar, they’re careful not to do anything that could spurn liberal Ivy League law grads from working there. For example, when Cadwaladar laid off a bunch of junior lawyers during the Great Recession, it took years for them to get their reputation back. Fortunately, former Skadden associate Rachel Cohen has made waves by speaking out, and BigLaw associates can anonymously signal their support here, and join hundreds of colleagues who have done so already. For an industry already facing enormous potential turbulence from AI, corporate law can’t afford to take a big hit from junior associates turning their backs on it. Keep the pressure up at internal meetings. Organize with fellow associates, both at your firm and other ones. Make it clear that capitulation to Donald Trump is not acceptable. Our vaunted legal system is fragile, and has always been political. If nothing else, consider self-preservation: If the law becomes a full extension of the political process, who needs expensive lawyers?
What can law students do? Law students can really hit these firms where it hurts. During the fall on campus interviewing process, students can make clear which firms get credit for standing up to themselves, and which firms will sell themselves out at first opportunity. One group that already organizes like this is Law Students for Climate Accountability, which produces a scorecard about how these firms fair on climate. My old firm, Hogan Lovells, got an “F”, which is not surprising. So did Paul, Weiss. Spread the word about this org, and join it if you’re in law school. (As I was going to publish this I saw this encouraging list of law school deans denouncing the administration’s attacks on law firms.)
This game is just getting started. The right-wing assault on liberal institutions is coming for nonprofits too. The Trump administration is not only trying to claw back clean energy funds that are already out the door and investigating recipients of these funds for fraud without a shred of evidence. This hits close to home, because organizations we know, people that have been working their asses off bringing electrification to peoples’ home heating and cooling systems, or bringing electric vehicle charging stations to urban areas, are being falsely labeled as criminals. We will stand with them through this bogus weaponization of the legal system.
Nonprofits are also being pressured to strip references to Black, brown, or people of color from their websites and materials, either directly in response to the administration’s so-called “DEI” orders, or because of skittish funders. One of our corporate funders recently suggested that “economically marginalized communities”, a sanitized phrase built in a philanthropy lab, was too hot to handle right now. We will not cow to this. Our organization has been led by Black and brown people for years. We didn’t get there because of “DEI”, we got there because we are excellent at what we do, and we will not let the administration equate “white” with “merit-based”. For all the nonprofits out there, be proud of your work, push back on funders, and don’t think that playing it safe will spare you in the long run.
If we know anything about standing up to bullies, whether we’re talking about the schoolyard or authoritarian regimes, we know that bullies are easier to challenge when we are united, and many back down the minute they face resistance. Don’t let your school or workplace end up like Columbia and Paul Weiss. Act in a way that Future You will be proud of. That’s the only way to get through this.
Postgame: I have a lot of love for St. Louis from the four months I spent there in 2018 helping launch the Close the Workhouse campaign, which successfully closed one of the country’s most notorious jails. It’s a city rich in culture and history, but stretched at all levels when it comes to resources. This year Anheuser-Busch, the hometown brewer of Bud Light and other brands, withdrew its support from Pride STL after 30 years of sponsorship, with other corporate sponsors withdrawing or reducing as well. This is unacceptable.
St. Louis is a particularly important Pride host, because once you get southwest of Chicago, there aren’t a lot of welcoming places for LGBT people. People come from as far as Oklahoma, Arkansas and Iowa to participate. At a time when this administration is giving prejudice the green light, we need to show solidarity with people across the country who need our support, particularly those of us in New York with means. Please consider a $45 dollar donation for Pride St. Louis’ 45 anniversary, or more if you can.
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