PUNCH BACK TWICE AS HARD: Law Firms Warn Universities About Antisemitism on Campus: Two dozen major Wall Street firms sent a letter to top law schools to crack down on discrimination and harassment amid an escalation in incidents targeting Jewish students.
With universities across the United States grappling with a rise in antisemitism since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, elite law firms are putting schools on notice. In a letter to some of the nation’s top law schools obtained by DealBook, about two dozen major Wall Street firms warned that what happens on campus could have corporate consequences.
“We look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses,” the firms wrote.
Among the firms that signed the letter are:
Cravath, Swaine & Moore
Debevoise & Plimpton
Kirkland & Ellis
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Skadden
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
Another signatory, Davis Polk & Wardwell, last month rescinded job offers over letters blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
The letter follows a series of recent antisemitic episodes at universities. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York sought this week to reassure Jewish students at Cornell after online posts threatening violence against them. Students at other schools have said they feel increasingly unsafe amid rallies and other acts that, in some instances, have become violent.
Make them pay.