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other requests, allow recent graduates to practice representing Republicans in lawsuits looking to contest
law with supervision. the election. More than 1,500 lawyers signed onto a let-
“Our letter was the result of an extraordinary ter condemning Rudy Guliani, Sydney Powell, Jenna
team effort that resulted in a letter proposing ex- Ellis and others involved in President Donald Trump’s
traordinary measures—all reflecting the extraordi- later legal efforts to overturn the election.
nary challenges faced by our graduating students, “We condemn this conduct without reservation. It
the legal profession as a whole, and the society that demeans the legal profession and the multitudes of
depends on us for legal services,” said University of lawyers of all political persuasions who daily serve
Miami School of Law Dean Anthony Varona. their clients and the public honorably. Our profes-
sion needs to affirm that this behavior grossly devi-
ates from the bar’s deep commitment to democratic
‘A No-Brainer’ for Some
Faced with a dire economic forecast, many firms institutions and the fact-based processes that main-
cut salaries and head count. Legal assistants and tain our democracy’s vitality,” the letter stated.
other professional staff faced many of the furloughs
and layoffs. Many firms leaned on partner draw re- ‘Wherever They’re Sitting’
ductions rather than sweeping layoffs. Later in the year, things began to look a little
“In our view, our equity partners have enjoyed more optimistic for the legal industry. One by one,
the benefit of great years we had in 2018 and 2019. law firms began rolling back the spring cuts. The
To me, it was a no-brainer that the owners of this mass layoffs that defined the 2008 financial collapse
business have to take care of our people,” said Tracy hadn’t materialized. End-of-year associate bonuses
Walker, managing partner of McGuireWoods. exceeded those of last year. Looking back, then for-
ward, law firm leaders are split on what effect the
pandemic will have long-term.
‘A Very Heavy Burden’
Mass protests erupted across the country this The success of the remote working experiment has
summer after a Minneapolis police officer killed some thinking the pandemic will reshape the legal
George Floyd. Firms donated millions to racial eq- industry whole cloth: smaller real estate footprints,
uity causes and leaders reckoned with race in their hiring permanent remote partners, a reimagining of
own law firms, vowing to improve internally. Black business development.
attorneys felt Floyd’s death reverberate through their “Why wouldn’t Quinn Emanuel be a firm of the best
own lives and careers. litigators wherever they’re sitting?” said John Quinn,
“To me, it’s overwhelming; I thought about this as founder of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.
someone’s son, someone’s brother, and he’s not going
home tonight. You fear for your children and grand- Getting ‘Comfortable’ Again
children. We fear that this could have been our child, Americans are seeing record cases and deaths as
our brother. In the case of Breonna Taylor, our sister, or 2020 closes. The coronavirus has killed more than
mother. It is a very heavy burden that I don’t feel any- 230,000 people in the United States. But the deploy-
body can quite measure,” said Ben Wilson, chairman of ment of two vaccines has many in the industry expe-
Washington, D.C., firm Beveridge & Diamond. riencing a rare feeling in 2020: optimism.
“The whole ‘the sky is falling’ theory is done.
People have started to get comfortable,” said
‘We Condemn This Conduct’
In the fall, attention around race and the pandemic Charles Ruck, a mergers and acquisitions partner
briefly gave way to the 2020 election. Attorneys met in at Latham & Watkins.
courtrooms in nearly every state to litigate the rules ¦

around mail-in balloting in the run-up to the election. Dylan Jackson writes about the business of law
After president-elect Joe Biden’s victory, Jones Day and and race. He can be reached at [email protected]
Porter Wright Morris & Arthur took public heat for or 305-347-6677. On Twitter @DylanBJackson

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