Top U.S. law firm Davis Polk announced in an internal email that it had rescinded letters of employment for three law students at Harvard and Columbia universities who signed on to organizational statements about Israel, one of the latest responses to open letters from university groups about the Israel-Hamas conflict that have roiled university donors, employers, alumni and students.
“These statements are simply contrary to our firm’s values and we thus concluded that rescinding these offers was appropriate in upholding our responsibility to provide a safe and inclusive work environment for all Davis Polk employees,” said the email, signed by Neil Barr.
Small-business lawyer Joseph Gerstel posted a screenshot of the email Tuesday on LinkedIn. A Davis Polk representative confirmed it as authentic.
Barr went on to write, “At this time, we remain in dialogue with two of these students to ensure that any further color being offered to us by these students is considered.”
Does anyone have a better representation of the original Harvard letter and who signed. Where I am confused is that the authoring group is the “Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee” and co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations. (https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2023/10/10/psc-statement-backlash/)
So how are lawyers and other graduate degree candidates get put under this. I can’t tell if folks are more fairly being punished by explicit signature, or more inferred to be a part of it by affiliation.