Sullivan & Cromwell Threatens Student Funding Over Antisemitism

Sullivan & Cromwell asked law school student groups to confirm they don’t support harassment or risk losing funding from the firm amid a surge of pro-Palestine protests on college campuses earlier this year.

The firm’s recruiting department in March contacted some 50 student groups at various schools via email, Milana Hogan, Sullivan & Cromwell’s chief talent officer, said in an interview. A women of color affinity group at Yale Law School and a New York University Law school LGBTQ student group were among those contacted.

The groups were asked to confirm their support for a November 2023 letter from the leaders of Sullivan & Cromwell and several law firms. The letter raised concerns about “reports of anti-Semitic harassment” on campuses and condemned “anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, racism or any other form of violence, hatred or bigotry.”

The firm said it would sponsor the groups “based on our understanding that the organization shares views that are consistent with those expressed in the letter,” according to an email obtained by Bloomberg Law.

The emails were part of the firm’s evaluation of its on-campus recruitment and group sponsorships, Hogan said. Joe Shenker, the firm’s senior chair, said it is vital to ensure that the firm is aligned with the groups it sponsors.

Shenker and Hogan declined to say how much money the firm gives to law student groups.

Sullivan & Cromwell has emerged as a leading voice in the legal industry against antisemitism and harassment in the wake of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. Shenker said in May that the firm would be “extremely vigilant” in vetting junior hires.

Bill Ackman, a Sullivan & Cromwell client and vocal critic of universities response to protests, hailed the firm’s efforts.

“S&C is our go-to law firm,” the Pershing Square hedge fund manager wrote in a May 16 post on X. “Their principled approach here makes me want to send them more business.”

Shenker also led the effort to get firms to sign onto the November 2023 letter to law school deans, condemning acts of antisemitism and Islamophobia on their campuses. More than 250 law firms including Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Latham & Watkins signed the letter.

Muslim legal groups including the American Muslim Bar Association, criticized the letter and Big Law’s widespread support of it for contributing to rising anti-Arab sentiments in the US. Over 90 law school deans, including the leaders of Columbia Law School and Stanford Law School, signed onto a Tuesday letter expressing support for training lawyers on “teaching our students to disagree respectfully and to engage across partisan and ideological divides.”

Sullivan & Cromwell is one of the top law firms for Wall Street, with a roster of clients that has included JP Morgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs, and Barclays. The firm brought in nearly $1.9 billion in revenue last year and its profits per equity partner topped $6.2 million.