Sullivan & Cromwell Plans Vigilant Hiring Checks After Protests

Sullivan & Cromwell will be “extremely vigilant” about vetting future hires following reports of harassment at pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses.

“We have been following closely the events at the schools from which we recruit, and have been in touch with the placement offices, deans, and trustees, as well as many concerned students,” said Joe Shenker, the firm’s senior chair. “Creating, or participating in, a climate of harassment, intimidation and discrimination is unacceptable. We have been very open about our firm’s views on these matters.”

Shenker’s comments in an interview Tuesday came on the same day President Joe Biden spoke out about the protests, saying “there is no place on any campus in America, any place in America, for antisemitism or hate speech, threats of violence of any kind.”

Pro-Palestine sits-ins, encampments, and demonstrations have spread to at least 100 college campuses, with some of them featuring antisemitic chants and posters. Columbia University canceled its main commencement ceremony slated for May 15 and its law school is offering optional pass/fail grading as it provides remote final examinations.

Legal leaders have been speaking out in various forms for months. Nearly a dozen conservative judges, all appointed by Donald Trump, told Columbia University President Minouche Shafik in a letter May 6 they won’t hire law clerks who attended the school as either undergraduates or law students, starting with next year’s entering class.

Shenker in the weeks after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas circulated a letter initially signed by more than two dozen firms that urged law school deans to take an “unequivocal stance” against antisemitic harassment on campuses. More than 250 firms have signed the letter at the latest count, he said.

“We have been, and will be, extremely vigilant in our hiring activities to ensure we are only hiring those students we are comfortable will proudly represent the values and principles of our firm,” Shenker said in the interview.