Conflicts / Worse from Political Speech as a Junior? Forum

[Anonymous User]

So obviously BigLaw partners often don't hide their political affiliations / activities, and unlike judges / clerks I don't think there's any ethical consequences for their doing so. Could you foresee any issues with an *associate* or junior doing so if their politics don't align necessarily with the firm's? Would it present any conflict-of-interest considerations (or disciplinary issues) if, say, a conservative at Jenner DC openly spoke at Republican events and wrote an op-ed on Dobbs (or, to make it less legal, generally on abortion)?

Firing would seem drastic; I'm sure there's no 1A violation even if the speech is the reason for the firing because of at-will employment but would there be anything to dissuade such a move by the firms beyond the appearance of bad taste / tackiness? Obviously hedge-funders love pretending they play god politics-wise (see Apollo) but wondering if similar activity in the legal field might pose unique concerns.

[jotarokujo]

So obviously BigLaw partners often don't hide their political affiliations / activities, and unlike judges / clerks I don't think there's any ethical consequences for their doing so. Could you foresee any issues with an *associate* or junior doing so if their politics don't align necessarily with the firm's? Would it present any conflict-of-interest considerations (or disciplinary issues) if, say, a conservative at Jenner DC openly spoke at Republican events and wrote an op-ed on Dobbs (or, to make it less legal, generally on abortion)?

Firing would seem drastic; I'm sure there's no 1A violation even if the speech is the reason for the firing because of at-will employment but would there be anything to dissuade such a move by the firms beyond the appearance of bad taste / tackiness? Obviously hedge-funders love pretending they play god politics-wise (see Apollo) but wondering if similar activity in the legal field might pose unique concerns.

do you mean a conflict of interest in terms of legal representation? i think the firm would have to be involved in a case related to what the junior is talking about (i.e. is representing a party that the junior is discussing), that's step one to figuring out if there's a conflict but i could be wrong

[Anonymous User]

So obviously BigLaw partners often don't hide their political affiliations / activities, and unlike judges / clerks I don't think there's any ethical consequences for their doing so. Could you foresee any issues with an *associate* or junior doing so if their politics don't align necessarily with the firm's? Would it present any conflict-of-interest considerations (or disciplinary issues) if, say, a conservative at Jenner DC openly spoke at Republican events and wrote an op-ed on Dobbs (or, to make it less legal, generally on abortion)?

Firing would seem drastic; I'm sure there's no 1A violation even if the speech is the reason for the firing because of at-will employment but would there be anything to dissuade such a move by the firms beyond the appearance of bad taste / tackiness? Obviously hedge-funders love pretending they play god politics-wise (see Apollo) but wondering if similar activity in the legal field might pose unique concerns.

Anon since the article is a specific topic and easy to find published copy of -

I wrote a law review article that eventually got published basically excoriating voting disenfranchisement and calling the conservative view on the issue shitty and racist (in so many words). The article remains under the “thought leadership” section of my firm bio. Never once got any flak for it and I’ve interacted with plenty of MAGA partners.

On the point of continued activism as an associate, I don’t think there would be any issues as long as you are generally well liked and deliver adequate work in a timely manner. I’m sure it isn’t completely immune but my experience of law firm politics has been far more formal and civilized than it is in the country at large. Not to mention that by and large associates seem to be far far more liberal than conservative in comparison to the partnership, so I don’t think it’s overly surprising to a partner that an associate might have liberal views. The only potential thorny issues arise if you somehow become a national celebrity or something to the point where you put the firm in a sensitive or precarious social position but that’s so fact specific only you would really know how to handle.

[The Lsat Airbender]

Low as their standards might be, if something is publishable in a major newspaper/magazine's op-ed page, or in a flagship law review, then it's probably not going to get you fired.

[jotarokujo]

and to answer the "will the firm care" question, a firm will not care unless it's directly shitting on one of their clients. firms don't really care that much about independent writing you do, whether that's substance or in terms of resume boost

[Anonymous User]

There might be a boutique vs. biglaw subtlety. Will, say, Wilmer or K&E care that your public writings don’t match the political valence of their appellate groups? Highly unlikely. (Yeah, maybe you don’t get staffed on SFFA if you idk drag affirmative action though.)

I think there might be some weirdness if a Consovoy / Cooper associate said something quite liberal in a publication or if a Kaplan Hecker analog said something quite conservative. But self-selection means the premise for this kind of scenario would be vanishingly rare.

[lavarman84]

Abortion is a subject where emotions tend to run high. I don't know that the firm will do anything, but I think there is a real risk that other attorneys at the firm who have strong feelings on the issue may not like it. That's a risk you can weigh in deciding how to proceed.

[bigcityattorney]

The firm won't care unless you become famous and embarrass the firm or a client. But individual partners may discover a reason to dislike you. You'll have to weight the costs.
"Public participation necessarily carries cost." Scalia.

[Anonymous User]

There's a difference between a law review article (or something masquerading as such) and a political oped. Check your firm's PR guidelines, you may have to officially run an oped by the marketing department or something, which nobody ever does but may be used against you. In general, it's just not worth it, unless you are looking to build up your profile for a potential political career. In which case you should probably lateral to a firm that matches your ideology. Or just wait until you pay off loans.