Imagine this: You’re a high-powered Big Law partner pulling in seven figures a year. Or maybe you’re in-house counsel at a Fortune 500 company with an army of lawyers at your disposal. You’ve got resources, prestige, and institutional backing that most lawyers can only dream of.
And yet, when it came time to file a brief supporting the executive order retaliating against lawyers, you were too afraid to sign your own name.
That’s exactly what happened last Friday. Bloomberg reports that the firms and in-house counsel who filed amicus briefs asking the D.C. Circuit to affirm the lower court rulings invalidating retaliatory executive orders against fourl bigaw firms did so anonymously. Let that sink in for a moment. These are supposed to be the heavyweights of the legal profession, who have the biggest platforms, the deepest pockets, and the most job security. And they couldn’t muster the courage to put their names on a public court filing.
Now contrast that with our solos and smalls. We’re built different. Eight hundred and thirteen solo and small firm lawyers proudly signed their names to this amicus brief we filed opposing the executive orders. No anonymity. No hiding. Just lawyers standing up and saying, “This is what I believe.”
The money and prestige of high-level legal positions are enviable, but they come at a cost. The freedom to sign your name whenever you want? That’s priceless.