Brian Leiter's Law School Reports

Advice to law firms in dealing with Trump: do not negotiate!

Sensible advice from Sheila Heen, a professor of practice and negotiation expert at Harvard Law School:   Download Negotiation Strategy Notes for Law Firms Heen April 12 2025.  Good advice for universities too!  

(Thanks to Richard Bales for the pointer.)

It looks like the "Skadden Fellow" brand is now tarnished after the firm's capitulation to Trump...

...in the opinion of hundreds of former Skadden Fellows.

"Independent Law Journal"

Here.  I was astonished to find my name on a list of "supporters":  I am neither a supporter nor an opponent.  Paul Robinson had emailed me and many others about the idea, and I gave him some advice, and also made clear I had neither the time nor the interest in participating in the undertaking.

UPDATE:  My name has been removed, but others, it turns out, were also listed without their permission.  Not a good start and pretty unprofessional.

ANOTHER:  Jeffrey Seaman, the student EIC of the Independent Law Journal, kindly shared the following:   "The ILJ accidentally copied several names from a list of potential supporters to a list of public supporters when first launching our website. We have corrected the mistake and sincerely apologize for any confusion it caused. We will make sure it does not happen again and are grateful for people’s understanding as we work to get this new journal started.” I

Letter from Harvard Law faculty about the "rule of law"

Here.  Some unsurprising names are absent from the letter (e.g., Adrian Vermeule).

Here's a federal judge who might be an actual candidate for impeachment...

...and he was, of course, nominated by Trump.

Paul Weiss capitulates...

...to "the mob boss," while Williams & Connolly defends Perkins Coie.  Paul Weiss has disgraced itself, and Williams & Connolly, along with Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling, are the clear destinations of choice for the best law students who believe in the rule of law.

Columbia law professors explain why Trump's "Title VI" demand letter to Columbia...

...violates both Title VI and the Constitution.  One may hope this forms the basis for the legal action the university needs to file against Trump this week.

Victory for UIC law professor Jason Kilborn in the 7th Circuit

Here.  As Prof. Keith Whittington explains, this is a significant victory for academic freedom rights of faculty.

 

Covington & Perkins Coie should now be the top choices for the best law students...

...in light of Trump's abuse of executive power to target those firms.

Political hack serving as Interim U.S. Attorney for D.C. threatens Georgetown Law...

...that his office will not hire their graduates if DEI is part of their curriculum, and Dean William Treanor responds forcefully and wholly correctly:  Download Treanor letter.  This is a good model for how educators should respond to the petty tyrants in Trump's orbit.