Elias Law Group Forum

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any knowledge about Elias Law Group? Interested in supporting their mission/curious about applying but there’s very little info available about actually working there (hours, culture, comp, etc.) Understand it’s brand new so this may be hard to come by.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any knowledge about Elias Law Group? Interested in supporting their mission/curious about applying but there’s very little info available about actually working there (hours, culture, comp, etc.) Understand it’s brand new so this may be hard to come by.

Nice try, John Durham

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any knowledge about Elias Law Group? Interested in supporting their mission/curious about applying but there’s very little info available about actually working there (hours, culture, comp, etc.) Understand it’s brand new so this may be hard to come by.

I mean, Elias got sanctioned by CA5 for misleading the Court, and even liberals think his tactics and judgement are questionable. So he doesn't have the most sterling reputation.

[Anonymous User]

Someone in my school who summered at Perkins is now a first year at Elias. I don't know this person well but it's interesting that the split included juniors.

[Anonymous User]

Someone in my school who summered at Perkins is now a first year at Elias. I don't know this person well but it's interesting that the split included juniors.

Why is that surprising? Elias took all the political law people from Perkins that didn't have alternative interests in commercial law. I also suspect he isn't paying BigLaw salaries, but that is pure speculation based on nothing other than doubts an entirely political practice can sustain BigLaw salaries.

[Anonymous User]

Someone in my school who summered at Perkins is now a first year at Elias. I don't know this person well but it's interesting that the split included juniors.

Why is that surprising? Elias took all the political law people from Perkins that didn't have alternative interests in commercial law. I also suspect he isn't paying BigLaw salaries, but that is pure speculation based on nothing other than doubts an entirely political practice can sustain BigLaw salaries.

It's not surprising just interesting. Seems like a good way to summarize it is "Perkins political law group, but now without the institutional support of a big firm".

[Sackboy]

It's not surprising just interesting. Seems like a good way to summarize it is "Perkins political law group, but now without the institutional support of a big firm".

The way you've worded this makes it sound like a con, but it sounds like a neutral at worst and a reasonably sized pro at best. Full service firms are completely overrated.

[UnfrozenCaveman]

Anyone have any knowledge about Elias Law Group? Interested in supporting their mission/curious about applying but there’s very little info available about actually working there (hours, culture, comp, etc.) Understand it’s brand new so this may be hard to come by.

I mean, Elias got sanctioned by CA5 for misleading the Court, and even liberals think his tactics and judgement are questionable. So he doesn't have the most sterling reputation.

Maybe being sanctioned by CA5 is another feather in his cap.

But for real, a little ridiculous to say that he doesn't have a sterling reputation considering the bulk of his work.

[Anonymous User]

Someone in my school who summered at Perkins is now a first year at Elias. I don't know this person well but it's interesting that the split included juniors.

Why is that surprising? Elias took all the political law people from Perkins that didn't have alternative interests in commercial law. I also suspect he isn't paying BigLaw salaries, but that is pure speculation based on nothing other than doubts an entirely political practice can sustain BigLaw salaries.

I don’t think the last point is true. I don’t think Perkins Coie as a whole subsidized the group. From what I understand, as Elias became more and more prominent, tensions grew between his (explicitly Democratic) group and the rest of the biglaw firm that serviced large corporate interests. The split wasn’t about Elias not carrying his weight to pay his team. Most of their clients are state/national candidates and committees who have lots of cash.

I do not know if his new firm is paying full biglaw comp to associates, though. He could probably attract lots of top talent without paying biglaw market anyway, given the unique nature of the work the group does.

[Anonymous User]

Anyone have any knowledge about Elias Law Group? Interested in supporting their mission/curious about applying but there’s very little info available about actually working there (hours, culture, comp, etc.) Understand it’s brand new so this may be hard to come by.

I mean, Elias got sanctioned by CA5 for misleading the Court, and even liberals think his tactics and judgement are questionable. So he doesn't have the most sterling reputation.

Maybe being sanctioned by CA5 is another feather in his cap.

But for real, a little ridiculous to say that he doesn't have a sterling reputation considering the bulk of his work.

In no world is getting sanctioned by a court of appeals for misleading the court a feather in one's cap. He filed a motion and failed to disclose that a different panel on CA5 had already rejected the same motion in an earlier stage of the case. That's unethical regardless whether you agree with his underlying mission.

If you're interesting in working with this guy because you care about voting rights, I highly recommend that you do your homework and go and talk to some of the folks at the ACLU, Brennan Center, NAACP-LDF, LULAC, etc. who represent voters in voting rights cases. Ask them what they think about Elias and whether they think its a good idea for a partisan representing the Democratic Party to lead the fight under the banner of "voting rights." Ask them what they think about his strategic and tactical decisions over the last couple years, what they thought about his disastrous advocacy in Brnovich, and about all the bad law he's created for everyone else in countless cases.

Even Rick Hasen--no one's idea of a Republican, called his tactics "questionable." He also noted that Marc "is a master of self promotion" and that "no one has thinner skin," so take that for what it is worth.

https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/13 ... 4200096773

[Anonymous User]

OP here - all those organizations you listed do good work as well but how many are paying (close to?) a firm salary? That's what seems to set it apart, to do important meaningful work without giving up much.

Also, not to derail but just throwing it out there: when one party is actively trying to disenfranchise minority voters and undermine elections and public health through conspiracy theories and disinformation, I think being partisan is kind of inevitable, maybe even a prerequisite.

[Anonymous User]

OP here - all those organizations you listed do good work as well but how many are paying (close to?) a firm salary? That's what seems to set it apart, to do important meaningful work without giving up much.

I'm not the anon you're responding to but I think you misunderstood the point. They weren't telling you to go work for those orgs, but to ask them discreetly what they actually think about Elias.

[Anonymous User]

OP here - all those organizations you listed do good work as well but how many are paying (close to?) a firm salary? That's what seems to set it apart, to do important meaningful work without giving up much.

Also, not to derail but just throwing it out there: when one party is actively trying to disenfranchise minority voters I think being partisan is kind of inevitable, maybe even a prerequisite.

Fair enough, if you want to do voting work and get paid, then it makes sense to work for a firm that represents the democratic party rather than voters. My point is that Elias has less than a sterling reputation, even amongst the voting rights crowd. And some (many?) in that crowd think that his advocacy hurts the cause more than it helps. And whether fair or not, there's a difference between cases that are brought by voters--and that emphasize the costs of restrictive voting laws on them--and cases brought by the Democratic party, which judges are more likely to view as cases about partisan gain . Maybe you don't think there's all that much of a difference, but some judges unquestionably do.

[UnfrozenCaveman]

You missed the part that it was a joke re: CA5, brave anon user.

[Anonymous User]

Someone in my school who summered at Perkins is now a first year at Elias. I don't know this person well but it's interesting that the split included juniors.

Why is that surprising? Elias took all the political law people from Perkins that didn't have alternative interests in commercial law. I also suspect he isn't paying BigLaw salaries, but that is pure speculation based on nothing other than doubts an entirely political practice can sustain BigLaw salaries.

I don’t think the last point is true. I don’t think Perkins Coie as a whole subsidized the group. From what I understand, as Elias became more and more prominent, tensions grew between his (explicitly Democratic) group and the rest of the biglaw firm that serviced large corporate interests. The split wasn’t about Elias not carrying his weight to pay his team. Most of their clients are state/national candidates and committees who have lots of cash.

I do not know if his new firm is paying full biglaw comp to associates, though. He could probably attract lots of top talent without paying biglaw market anyway, given the unique nature of the work the group does.

Ignoring the dumb sidetrack, I am interested in their finances and if they pay BigLaw salaries. In 2020, the DNC and associated groups paid Perkins Coie about $28 million for legal services, and they got $68 million total. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-ex ... rkins+Coie

[Anonymous User]

Someone in my school who summered at Perkins is now a first year at Elias. I don't know this person well but it's interesting that the split included juniors.

Why is that surprising? Elias took all the political law people from Perkins that didn't have alternative interests in commercial law. I also suspect he isn't paying BigLaw salaries, but that is pure speculation based on nothing other than doubts an entirely political practice can sustain BigLaw salaries.

I don’t think the last point is true. I don’t think Perkins Coie as a whole subsidized the group. From what I understand, as Elias became more and more prominent, tensions grew between his (explicitly Democratic) group and the rest of the biglaw firm that serviced large corporate interests. The split wasn’t about Elias not carrying his weight to pay his team. Most of their clients are state/national candidates and committees who have lots of cash.

I do not know if his new firm is paying full biglaw comp to associates, though. He could probably attract lots of top talent without paying biglaw market anyway, given the unique nature of the work the group does.

Ignoring the dumb sidetrack, I am interested in their finances and if they pay BigLaw salaries. In 2020, the DNC and associated groups paid Perkins Coie about $28 million for legal services, and they got $68 million total. https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-ex ... rkins+Coie

Website lists 15 partners and 39 associates.

[Robot]

Brave anon should be outed. Also yeah regardless of whether Elias is good (I personally find his public persona obnoxious but don’t have any expertise on his lit) I really doubt that getting sanctioned 2-1 by a conservative CA5 panel for sharp but not-normally-sanctionable tactics is a big deal to anyone interested in his sort of work.

[aegor]

Also, not to derail but just throwing it out there: when one party is actively trying to disenfranchise minority voters and undermine elections and public health through conspiracy theories and disinformation, I think being partisan is kind of inevitable, maybe even a prerequisite.

With that spicy take you would fit right in.

[lavarman84]

Brave anon should be outed. Also yeah regardless of whether Elias is good (I personally find his public persona obnoxious but don’t have any expertise on his lit) I really doubt that getting sanctioned 2-1 by a conservative CA5 panel for sharp but not-normally-sanctionable tactics is a big deal to anyone interested in his sort of work.

Agreed. Quite a few attorneys I respect were rolling their eyes at the Fifth Circuit panel. It was an overreaction. As for Elias, he's definitely a self-promoter, but his team is effective at what they do. If you want to do that sort of work and agree with his politics, it would be a good place to get experience.

[Anonymous User]

Elias told a lot of lies about the provenance and funding of the Steele dossier, even according to the NYT. He was apparently deeply involved in the Steele dossier, a project which consisted of slimey and false "opposition research," laundered through a law firm in the hopes of obtaining attorney-client privilege secrecy. And who knows what is to come from Special Counsel Durham.