Law Students, Take the Pledge: Disavow Law Firms Representing Trump in Election Litigation

Our democracy is under attack. President Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee have filed frivolous lawsuits in states across the country in an attempt to overturn the results of a fair election and undermine our democratic process. These lawsuits are failing and have received vehement criticism for their meritless attempts to sow discord and distrust.

Yet, attorneys from Jones Day, Porter Wright, King & Spalding, and Consovoy McCarthy are leading the charge. They are not just complicit – they are enabling despotic attempts to threaten our election integrity and the future of our nation. This is unethical, plain and simple.

Today, law students nationwide are joining together to send a message: We will not interview or work for these law firms.

These four firms are being credited as receiving the largest amount of attorney’s fees from Trump’s campaign and the majority of the legal work:

• Jones Day has been involved in 20 lawsuits on behalf of President Trump, his campaign, or the Republican Party. It has taken over $20 million from the Trump campaigns, political groups linked to Trump, and the RNC, including $4 million this year alone. Recently, Jones Day and Porter Wright petitioned the Supreme Court asking it to bar Pennsylvania from counting mail-in ballots received after November 3. Lawyers from Jones Day itself stated this was done “to erode public confidence in the election results.”

• Porter Wright Morris & Arthur filed multiple lawsuits in Pennsylvania this November alleging voter fraud and suing to stop certification. Legal experts have declared these suits “dead on arrival.” But the firm continues to cash in, making at least $727,000 from the Trump campaign and the RNC this year alone.

• King & Spalding represented the Trump campaign, RNC, and North Carolina Republican Party in a lawsuit before Election Day attempting to block North Carolina officials from being able to enforce new rule changes regarding mail-in ballots.

• Consovoy McCarthy moved to intervene in the U.S. Supreme Court case regarding Pennsylvania election integrity.

These firms are helping the Trump campaign file frivolous complaints and erode public trust in our elections. They do not have to work for Trump while he undermines our democracy. And we don’t have to work for these firms.

Law students, particularly 1Ls and 2Ls participating in the law firm recruiting process, must stand up, use our power, and refuse to normalize the actions of lawyers destabilizing our democracy. We can hold ourselves and others accountable for our decisions. We can choose what we want this profession to look like. As civil rights attorney Sasha Samberg-Champion put it, “we are a self-regulating profession, and we need to start regulating.”

We cannot let these law firms continue to delegitimize our democracy, and we certainly cannot work for them. We have a moral imperative.

As law students, we pledge not to participate in the recruiting processes of Jones Day, Porter Wright, King & Spalding, and Consovoy McCarthy for as long as they continue to help undermine our democracy.

JONES DAY

• Nine partners and associates expressed concern that Jones Day is “advancing arguments that lack evidence and may be helping Mr. Trump and his allies undermine the integrity of American elections.”
• Jones Day and Porter Wright petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to bar Pennsylvania from counting mail-in ballots received by Nov. 6, but postmarked by Nov. 3.
• Six Jones Day lawyers said that the main goal of this Pennsylvania litigation “seemed to be to erode public confidence in the election results.”
• Since 2015, Jones Day has received more than $20 million from the Trump campaigns, political groups linked to Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee
• It has received $4 million this year alone in fees from Mr. Trump, political groups supporting him and the Republican National Committee.
• Jones Day partner Donald F. McGahn II served as Mr. Trump’s outside lawyer during the 2016 campaign and became White House counsel before returning to Jones Day.
• Jones Day partner Noel Francisco was President Trump’s first solicitor general before returning to Jones Day.
• Jones Day partner Eric Dreiband is an Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
• Jones Day partner John Gore was formerly acting head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division before returning to Jones Day. Now, he is leading some of the Trump campaign’s election litigation efforts.