Following an opinion piece published in The New York Times in May 2021 entitled “Anti-Zionism Isn’t Anti-Semitism?”, WilmerHale joined some of the largest law firms in the world to condemn the surge in anti-Semitic attacks and vitriol. The following letter was published in The American Lawyer on May 27, 2021.
Statement Condemning Anti-Semitism
"As leaders of the largest law firms in the United States, we publicly denounce anti-Semitism and the demonization of Jews pervading the press, social media, and the streets of this country.
We stand for the rule of law and the tolerance and inclusion of all. We have protested the senseless murder of George Floyd and countless others at the hands of the police; we have publicly condemned acts of violence and hatred against Asian Pacific Islanders, Black, Latinx, LGBTQ, and Muslim communities; we are litigating against hate groups to hold them accountable for their racist and violent acts; we have litigated seminal civil rights cases; we have fought efforts to separate children from their parents' arms at our borders; we have fought to expand the right to marry to include same-sex couples; and we are engaged in the struggle to end gun violence. We are advocates who take action to redress the wrongs in our country and to protect the vulnerable.
Today, and every day, we stand against the pernicious and violent attacks against Jews in this country. We are horrified by the vitriolic hate being spewed, by both the uneducated and the educated who know better, on social media. We are disheartened and alarmed by the lack of urgency in denouncing these escalating and offensive attacks on Jews. In the face of these acts in our own country, we are frightened by the silence of a nation that vowed never to forget the massacre of millions at the hands of hate.
An attack on any group based on race, religion, color, sexual orientation, or national origin—including Jewish people—is an assault on the values of diversity, equality and inclusion that are the bedrock of this country and that we as law firms strive to uphold in our own institutions. We call on our colleagues, the leaders of corporate America, and private and public academic institutions, including law schools, to stand with us and publicly denounce anti-Semitism, in all of its forms."
Signatories
Leaders of the following law firms have joined the statement:
Akerman LLP — Scott A. Meyers, Chairman & CEO
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP — Kim Koopersmith, Chairperson
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP — Patrick T. Quinn, Managing Partner
Cahill Gordon & Reindel — William M. Hartnett, Chairman of Executive Committee
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LP — Michael A. Gerstenzang, Managing Partner
Cooley LLP — Joe Conroy, Chairman and CEO
Cozen O'Connor P.C. — Michael J. Heller, Executive Chairman and CEO
Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP — Faiza J. Saeed, Presiding Partner
Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP — Neil Barr, Managing Partner
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP — Jeffrey P. Gray, Firmwide Managing Partner; and Scott W. MacCormack, Firmwide Managing Partner
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP — Michael W. Blair, Presiding Partner
Dechert LLP — Andrew J. Levander, Chair of Policy Committee
Duane Morris — Matthew A. Taylor, Chairman and CEO
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP — Mark D. Wasserman, Co-Chief Executive Officer
Fenwick & West LLP — Rodger R. Cole, Firmwide Managing Partner
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP — Alan Mason, Global Managing Partner
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP — David J. Greenwald, Chairman
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP — Barbara L. Becker, Chair and Managing Partner
Goodwin Procter LLP — Robert S. Insolia, Chairman; and Mark T. Bettencourt, Managing Partner
Haynes and Boone, LLP — Taylor H. Wilson, Managing Partner
Hogan Lovells US LLP — Miguel Zaldivar, Chief Executive Officer
Jenner & Block LLP — Katya Jestin, Co-Managing Partner; and Randall E. Mehrberg, Co-Managing Partner
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP — Noah S. Heller, Chief Executive Officer
Kirkland & Ellis LLP — Jon A. Ballis P.C., Chairman
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP — Paul H. Schoeman, Co-Managing Partner; and Howard T. Spilko, Co-Managing Partner
Latham & Watkins LLP — Richard M. Trobman, Chair and Managing Partner
Loeb & Loeb LLP — Kenneth R. Florin, Chairman
Mayer Brown LLP — Paul W. Theiss, Chairman
McDermott Will & Emery — Ira J. Coleman, Chairman
Milbank LLP — Scott A. Edelman, Chairman; and David J. Wolfson, Executive Director
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. — Robert I. Bodian, Managing Partner
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP — Jami McKeon, Chair
Morrison & Foerster LLP — Tessa J. Schwartz, Managing Partner; Craig D. Martin, Managing Partner
Nixon Peabody LLP — Stephen D. Zubiago, CEO & Managing Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP — Jeff Cody, Managing Partner; and Shauna Clark, Global Chair and US Chair
O'Melveny & Myers LLP — Bradley J. Butwin, Chairman
Paul Hastings LLP — Seth Zachary, Chairman
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP — Brad S. Karp, Chairman
Polsinelli — Chase Simmons, Chairman & CEO
Proskauer Rose LLP — Steven M. Ellis, Chairman; and Daryn A. Grossman, Managing Partner
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP — John B. Quinn, Founder
Reed Smith LLP — Sandy Thomas, Global Managing Partner
Ropes & Gray LLP — Julie H. Jones, Chair
Sheppard Mullin — Guy Halgren, Chairman
Sidley Austin LLP — Mike Schmidtberger, Chair of Firm Executive Committee; and Yvette Ostolaza, Chair of Firm Management Committee
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP — William R. Dougherty, Chairman of Firm Executive Committee
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP — Eric J. Friedman, Executive Partner
Steptoe & Johnson LLP — Philip R. West, Chair
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP — Joseph C. Shenker, Chair
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz — Daniel A. Neff, Co-Chairman of Executive Committee
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP — Barry M. Wolf, Executive Partner and Chair of Firm's Management Committee
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Matthew A. Feldman, Chairman; and Thomas M. Cerabino, Chairman
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP — Susan W. Murley and Robert T. Novick, Co-Managing Partners
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati — Douglas J. Clark, Managing Partner
Winston & Strawn LLP — Thomas P. Fitzgerald, Chairman
