With rising tensions and societal debates surrounding subjects as politically charged and emotionally charged as the Israel-Palestine conflict, corporations and law firms are increasingly finding themselves thrusted into challenging situations. Embroiled in the midst of such a scenario is the Big Law firm, Foley & Lardner, which recently retracted a job offer from an incoming lawyer over comments relating to Israel and Palestine, a move that has elicited various reactions from the larger legal and corporate communities.
Daljit Doogal, CEO of Foley & Lardner, remarked in a recent interview about the complexities associated with such decisions. According to him, the overlap between corporate roles and broader societal issues can blur lines and raise important questions, causing firms to make tough calls at times. The incident in question here pertains to the case of Jinan Chehade, a Georgetown Law graduate. The job offer extended to her was rescinded by Foley on November 30 over her comments about Hamas’ attacks that reportedly contradicted the firm’s core values. The firm has yet to specify the contentious statements. [Bloomberg Law]
Doogal, who emerged as Foley’s CEO in 2022, affirms that the firm remains accomodating of a diversity of viewpoints, though it implies drawing a line on acceptable speech. This incident seems to be a part of a growing pattern, wherein at least four other corporate law firms have taken similar actions – rescinding a job offer or terminating an employee over public remarks in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which triggered a war in the region.
Chehade, who was preparing to begin her associate role in Chicago, responded by filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing the firm of retaliation and discrimination based on her nationality and religion. In her statement, she highlighted that her support for Palestine, expressed through her social media posts, was incorrectly interpreted as an endorsement of terrorism by the firm. She further pointed out a broader pattern of attacks on individuals voicing support for Palestinian rights or criticizing Israel’s human rights violations. [Bloomberg Law]
In the past, Foley has had to respond to actions by its lawyers. For instance, Cleta Mitchell, a partner, resigned from the firm after it announced concerns about her involvement in a call where President Donald Trump asked Georgia officials to manipulate the votes to sway the state in his favor during the 2020 election. Furthermore, addressing the 2024 election, Doogal said that while the firm does not have guardrails in place, senior partners would need to consider the propriety of a lawyer advocating for Trump.
Foley, which primarily concentrates on manufacturing, energy, technology, and healthcare sectors, amassed revenue exceeding $1 billion for the first time in 2021, according to American Lawyer data. A significant proportion of this was credited to its corporate practice specializing in middle-market mergers and acquisitions.