Quinn Emanuel Drops Client Ye After His Anti-Semitic Remarks

Washington-based Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP dropped hip hop musician and fashion designer Ye as a client late last month in the latest backlash against his anti-semitic comments.

The Quinn Emanuel decision to cut ties with its controversial client is part of a recent trend among Washington’s BigLaw firms to distance themselves from politically troubled professional interests.

They are trying to protect themselves from the kind of backlash suffered by Jones Day for representing the Trump administration in challenging the validity of the 2020 election results. In addition to criticism in the media, protesters picketed the Jones Day offices in New York.

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, along with clothing companies Adidas and Gap, Inc., also severed their contacts with Ye, formerly known as Kanye West.

Ye tweeted, "I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE." He also wore a "White Lives Matter'' T-shirt during his recent fashion show in Paris.?

Twitter and Instagram responded by locking him out of their social media accounts. When asked by journalists about the comments, Ye was largely unremorseful.

A similar departure of law firms from controversial clients arose when Russia invaded Ukraine in February. At least 25 international law firms shut down their Russian operations, including Baker McKenzie and White & Case.

A Baker McKenzie statement explained that “we strongly condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which stands in stark contrast to our values, the values of our clients and those of the wider global business community. We will not act for any individuals or entities that are controlled by, or directly linked to, the Russian state and/or current regime, anywhere in the world.”

In a similar move based on ethics, Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced in June it was ceasing its contracts with appellate attorney Paul Clement for his representation of gun manufacturers.

Clement, who served as solicitor general during the George W. Bush administration, won a major Second Amendment case in the Supreme Court for a National Rifle Association affiliate in June. Hours later, Kirkland & Ellis announced in a press release it will “no longer represent clients with respect to matters involving the interpretation of the Second Amendment.”

The announcement coincided with public outrage over recent mass killings, such as the murders of 21 students and teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, a month earlier.

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