LGBT Class of 2014 Forum

[src42]

Checking in. I'll be at Penn in the fall. So excited!

[Jameson86]

Going to Tulane this fall!

Me too!

[neonx]

Stanford Law, as of today.

[subtle]

Stanford Law, as of today.

Congrats, BB. Even if Stanford is in the opposite direction of where you should be.

[tgir]

Stanford Law, as of today.

Same for me!

[khodorko]

Checking in. I'll be at Penn in the fall. So excited!

Hey! Jackie and I are going to Penn in the fall as well. Are you on the FB group?

[Leira7905]

Thought I'd join the thread. UT in the fall.

ETA: Any other LGBT joining me in Texas???

[src42]

Checking in. I'll be at Penn in the fall. So excited!

Hey! Jackie and I are going to Penn in the fall as well. Are you on the FB group?

Not yet. My boss is my FB friend and I want to tell him about law school before I "out" myself.

[JeremyPaul]

Stanford Law, as of today.


Same for me!

me three!

so... is it gonna be awkward admitting why we already know each other when we do student orientation in august? not sure i'm ready to introduce myself to our new class as a TLS web forum addict.

[tgir]

Stanford Law, as of today.


Same for me!

me three!

so... is it gonna be awkward admitting why we already know each other when we do student orientation in august? not sure i'm ready to introduce myself to our new class as a TLS web forum addict.

Just say we met at ASW and nurtured the friendship via Facebook from that point onward.

[neonx]

Stanford Law, as of today.


Same for me!

me three!

so... is it gonna be awkward admitting why we already know each other when we do student orientation in august? not sure i'm ready to introduce myself to our new class as a TLS web forum addict.

Just say we met at ASW and nurtured the friendship via Facebook from that point onward.

At least take comfort in the fact that you did not act like I did during ASW . . . pointing people out incessantly.

[JeremyPaul]

At least take comfort in the fact that you did not act like I did during ASW . . . pointing people out incessantly.

haha i'm sad i missed that part of ASW!! sounds funny and so awkward.

[JeremyPaul]

Hey, have you all been following the King & Spalding controversy? The law firm that will be defending DOMA on behalf of Congress?

A good summary of the issue is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/2 ... 52750.html

What do you think is an appropriate way for LGBT student groups to respond? Do you think they should request that the firm isn't allowed to do on campus interviews?

Aside from representing DOMA (cause let's face it, most firms represent pretty nasty clients), the contract also stipulates that no employee who works at the firm is allowed to do any advocacy on behalf of federal marriage equality. See: http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=6167

Whadya think?

[02122015]

Hey, have you all been following the King & Spalding controversy? The law firm that will be defending DOMA on behalf of Congress?

A good summary of the issue is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/2 ... 52750.html

What do you think is an appropriate way for LGBT student groups to respond? Do you think they should request that the firm isn't allowed to do on campus interviews?

Aside from representing DOMA (cause let's face it, most firms represent pretty nasty clients), the contract also stipulates that no employee who works at the firm is allowed to do any advocacy on behalf of federal marriage equality. See: http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=6167

Whadya think?

We talked about this in our Outlaw group. We've decided not to pursue the matter; part of it is because my specific school is not exactly gonna have a chance in hell of banning K&S from campus for various reasons, but also because we're inclined to agree with this:
http://abovethelaw.com/2011/04/quote-of ... riage-act/

A lawyer who defends an individual or a law, no matter how unpopular or distasteful, helps ensure that the outcome is viewed as fair. If DOMA is struck down, the fact that it was defended effectively will make the victory for its opponents more credible…. We hope [Paul] Clement loses, but we don’t begrudge him the assignment. Even a lawyer of his skills will find it hard to defend a discriminatory law like DOMA.

– a Los Angeles Times staff editorial, defending former Solicitor General Paul Clement and his law firm, King & Spalding, against criticism of their defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

As for the clause prohibiting associates from advocating for DOMA repeal, this seems like a standard way to prevent firm-wide conflicts of interest. Notice how the clause doesn't mention anything about state-level marriage equality, for one thing. It seems like it is just trying to keep K&M from defending and opposing DOMA at the same time.

Furthermore, they don't really otherwise have an anti-LGBT track record; HRC gives them a 95/100 score for workplace equality (higher than, e.g, United Airlines, Thomson Reuters (i.e. Westlaw, etc), McDonalds, Rite Aid, Whole Foods, Kroger, Safeway, Burger King, M&M Mars, Heinz, KFC, Domino's, Nokia, Hilton, Holiday Inn, American Family Insurance, State Farm, Expedia, FedEx, GE, CVS, Qwest, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car). None of those companies even have scores below 50/100. Compare this to companies with 0/100, such as USAA, ExxonMobil, Dollar General, Family Dollar, DISH Network, and Philip Morris, but nobody seems to be doing anything about those.

[D-hops]

Hey, have you all been following the King & Spalding controversy? The law firm that will be defending DOMA on behalf of Congress?

A good summary of the issue is here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/2 ... 52750.html

What do you think is an appropriate way for LGBT student groups to respond? Do you think they should request that the firm isn't allowed to do on campus interviews?

Aside from representing DOMA (cause let's face it, most firms represent pretty nasty clients), the contract also stipulates that no employee who works at the firm is allowed to do any advocacy on behalf of federal marriage equality. See: http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=6167

Whadya think?

We talked about this in our Outlaw group. We've decided not to pursue the matter; part of it is because my specific school is not exactly gonna have a chance in hell of banning K&S from campus for various reasons, but also because we're inclined to agree with this:
http://abovethelaw.com/2011/04/quote-of ... riage-act/

A lawyer who defends an individual or a law, no matter how unpopular or distasteful, helps ensure that the outcome is viewed as fair. If DOMA is struck down, the fact that it was defended effectively will make the victory for its opponents more credible…. We hope [Paul] Clement loses, but we don’t begrudge him the assignment. Even a lawyer of his skills will find it hard to defend a discriminatory law like DOMA.

– a Los Angeles Times staff editorial, defending former Solicitor General Paul Clement and his law firm, King & Spalding, against criticism of their defense of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

As for the clause prohibiting associates from advocating for DOMA repeal, this seems like a standard way to prevent firm-wide conflicts of interest. Notice how the clause doesn't mention anything about state-level marriage equality, for one thing. It seems like it is just trying to keep K&M from defending and opposing DOMA at the same time.

Furthermore, they don't really otherwise have an anti-LGBT track record; HRC gives them a 95/100 score for workplace equality (higher than, e.g, United Airlines, Thomson Reuters (i.e. Westlaw, etc), McDonalds, Rite Aid, Whole Foods, Kroger, Safeway, Burger King, M&M Mars, Heinz, KFC, Domino's, Nokia, Hilton, Holiday Inn, American Family Insurance, State Farm, Expedia, FedEx, GE, CVS, Qwest, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car). None of those companies even have scores below 50/100. Compare this to companies with 0/100, such as USAA, ExxonMobil, Dollar General, Family Dollar, DISH Network, and Philip Morris, but nobody seems to be doing anything about those.

HRC Ratings are pretty much exclusively about the benefits offered to LGBT employees (and domestic partners), they say nothing about the acceptance of the employees in the work place or any other qualitative factors about working for a company. Not saying that there are not legit rankings, I just don't think the accurately reflect "best places to work" over "places where you get the most benefits". I'll bet anything a gay guy working in marketing/advertisement at McDonalds is going to be more accepted than someone in tax law at a big firm. So, take those rankings with a grain of salt.

[JeremyPaul]

I'll bet anything a gay guy working in marketing/advertisement at McDonalds is going to be more accepted than someone in tax law at a big firm. So, take those rankings with a grain of salt.

oh no! i'm actually hoping to go into tax law! please tell me this isn't based on personal experience within tax??

as for the contract stipulating a gag rule on any DOMA-related advocacy, the president of lambda legal is already questioning its legality and claiming that it is far from standard practice:

Davidson specifically pointed to California, where King & Spalding has two offices, in which Labor Code Section 1101 states that "[n]o employer shall make, adopt, or enforce any rule, regulation, or policy ... [f]orbidding or preventing employees from engaging or participating in politics ...."

http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=6167

another strategy that student groups could take is for every LGBT student to sign up to interview with them and then just ask questions related to the DOMA case and not respond to call-back offers. actually... not sure if that would be effective...

[Cupidity]

I'll bet anything a gay guy working in marketing/advertisement at McDonalds is going to be more accepted than someone in tax law at a big firm. So, take those rankings with a grain of salt.

Stop talking 0L, your comment was stupid.

[Cupidity]

oh no! i'm actually hoping to go into tax law! please tell me this isn't based on personal experience within tax?? :

All tax lawyers in Boston are gay. I assume the same is true for other major markets.

[D-hops]

I'll bet anything a gay guy working in marketing/advertisement at McDonalds is going to be more accepted than someone in tax law at a big firm. So, take those rankings with a grain of salt.

Stop talking 0L, your comment was stupid.

Not a 0L and also, my comment, while hyperbole, was meant to say that HRC scores are not the end-all of how open a firm is going to be of LGBT employees.

[02122015]

Settle down, 0Ls.

[D-hops]

Settle down, 0Ls.

GTFO 0L, wait, this is a Class of 2014 thread, derp.

[Cupidity]

I'll bet anything a gay guy working in marketing/advertisement at McDonalds is going to be more accepted than someone in tax law at a big firm. So, take those rankings with a grain of salt.

Stop talking 0L, your comment was stupid.

Not a 0L and also, my comment, while hyperbole, was meant to say that HRC scores are not the end-all of how open a firm is going to be of LGBT employees.

Ok, that is valid. They can be gamed. But law firms are very welcoming, especially in the northeast and california.

[JeremyPaul]

oh my. this group is gettin FIERCE.

[dot]

I think I'm revising my decision to Yale.

[neonx]

I think I'm revising my decision to Yale.

dot! <3 We'll miss you at SLS!