US law firm reviews decision to rescind job offers over Israel protest
New York | Davis Polk, one of the most prestigious law firms in the US, is reconsidering its decision to rescind employment offers made to students who the firm believed led organisations at Harvard and Columbia that issued statements blaming Israel for the October 7 attack by Hamas that left more than 1400 Israelis dead.
On Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), the firm said it was reconsidering that decision for two of the three students involved. The move came after the two students fought their dismissals and said that they did not authorise the letters, which did not have any individual signatories.
Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. AP
The New York law firm said two of the students held leadership roles in groups that signed a letter at Columbia and one was affiliated with the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups, which jointly wrote a letter that held the “Israeli regime” responsible for the deadly violence.
The firm did not identify the students or which two of the offers it was reconsidering.
“The views expressed in certain of the statements signed by law school student organisations in recent days are in direct contravention of our firm’s value system,” Davis Polk said in a statement.
To ensure that “we continue to maintain a supportive and inclusive work environment”, the firm added, “the student leaders responsible for signing on to these statements are no longer welcome in our firm”.
Davis Polk ‘engaging with students’
In the past week, many law students to whom Davis Polk had promised employment – from Columbia, Harvard and other schools – had reached out to say they didn’t agree with statements released from organisations they were part of that blamed Israel for the October 7 killings, a Davis Polk spokeswoman said.
Many of the students also said they had resigned from those groups or similar ones after the Harvard and Columbia student groups released their statements, the spokeswoman said.
Davis Polk said it was engaging with the students who had fought their dismissals, but for now, it had not decided on whether to reverse course.
Another law firm, Winston & Strawn, recently rescinded an employment offer it had made to a New York University law student, Ryna Workman, the president of the university’s Student Bar Association, who had written a message to their student group stating that “Israel bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life”.
Last week, hedge fund manager William Ackman called on corporations to refuse to hire students who are members of groups that signed statements singling out Israel’s policies as the cause of the attacks.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Introducing your Newsfeed
Follow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.
Find out moreRead More
Latest In Professional services
Fetching latest articles