Covington & Burling LLP and Perkins Coie LLP have been attacked by the current administration and I have seen almost no commentary on this from the LegalTech community. As I look through my LinkedIn feed, I see Heather Morse and Jordan Furlong (a Canadian) are the only 1st level contacts of mine that have posted anything about these attacks. I don’t blame anyone for not speaking out, it’s a scary time. Also I don’t spend a lot of time on LinkedIn, either reading or posting, and I don’t use any other social media any more. It is entirely possible that I’ve just missed content from my friends and colleagues in BigLaw and LegalTech, if so I apologize profusely to those who have stood in support of these firms. I am scared, but that is exactly why I feel it’s necessary to speak out now.
I was questioned by a friend last week for posting on LinkedIn about my decision to not spend money on Amazon anymore. “Does partisanship really need to invade LinkedIn, too?”, he lamented.
As I said to him, I am not partisan, unless you consider basic dignity for all human beings, support for democratic principles, and taking a stand for the rule of law to be partisan positions. I do not.
Working in a law firm, or the legal environment in general, sometimes means accepting that your firm or your clients will do things that you don’t agree with politically. I have worked with firms that I disagree with their public political positions or their clients’ politics. I have worked on projects for organizations that I personally find reprehensible, although, I have never worked on projects that I found immoral, unethical, or that were otherwise at odds with my personal sensibilities. It may be splitting hairs, but it’s a split that everyone in this industry has had to make at one time or another. To work in the legal industry is to believe that even those you dislike, or disagree with, deserve the best legal representation they can get and for the justice system to deal with them fairly. I have always held fast to the truth that my firms and my clients, no matter their political leanings, believed in the rule of law and basic principles of democracy above all.
I completely understand not wanting “politics” or “partisanship” to invade our little LegalTech enclave. And I know that many of you are outside the United States, looking at the crazy happening in our country with fear and suspicion, but also not feeling it’s your place to say anything. I too would rather be reading and writing about the latest developments in AI, and which startup got massive investment from which investors, and which law firm is currently sending out press releases announcing their latest software purchase, as if they just discovered fire.
You may think that Trump and Musk’s systematic (if haphazard) dismantling of the US Federal Government is long overdue. You may be cheering the round up of immigrants, documented and not, for expedited removal from the United States. You may not like Jack Smith, or Hillary Clinton, or DEI initiatives in general (all reasons given for the executive orders attacking Covington and Perkins). But at the very least — and I truly mean the VERY least — if none of his other actions give you pause, the president is now attacking lawyers and law firms for doing their jobs on behalf of people he doesn’t personally like. That is intended to intimidate others who have the temerity to stand up for rule of law against a tyrannical leader. If he is successful, there is no “rule of law” in the United States of America.
What value our Legal Technology Innovation initiatives, if there is no rule of law?
What value our LegalTech startup ARR, if there is no rule of law?
What value our Law Firms, if there is no rule of law?
I stand with Covington & Burling LLP and Perkins Coie LLP (neither of whom pay me) and with everyone else who gives a damn about the rule of law, whether I otherwise agree with your politics or not.
I will take my political stand to the ballot box, to my representatives, and to the streets in peaceful protest, if need be, but the rule of law is not negotiable… not political… certainly not partisan… and is absolutely imperative for the continuing existence of our little niche industry.
#LegalTechOutrage
Edit: March 10, 2025 6:30 PM ET – Added reference to Jordan and his post.
Additional Posts calling for defense of the rule of law (added as I become aware):
Why This “Non-Lawyer” Stands with the ABA – Jasmine Trillos-Decarie