Law firm will no longer recruit at Harvard, says Gay 's testimony crossed 'boundaries of morality and ethics'
'Factoring in her extensive experience and preparation with a crisis management team, Dr. Gay’s testimony before Congress cannot be seen as merely a slip of the tongue.'
A law firm has announced that it will no longer be recruiting on Harvard Law School’s campus, citing Harvard University President Claudine Gay’s recent disastrous congressional testimony in which she repeatedly insisted that the acceptability of “calling for the genocide of Jews” on campus “depends on the context.”
In a Dec. 14 letter, Edelson PC law firm founder Jay Edelson informed Harvard’s Director of Recruitment & Operations that the firm would be ceasing “on-campus interviews at Harvard Law School,” and will not be participating in the interview program scheduled for Spring 2024.
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“We, along with the rest of the nation, observed Dr. Claudine Gay’s testimony before Congress, wherein she refused to unequivocally state that advocating for genocide would breach the school’s code of conduct,” wrote Edelson.
“Despite her belated apology, the gravity of her initial response cannot be overlooked. As an expert in political and social studies, Dr. Gay certainly knew to expect the types of questions that would be asked of her. Indeed, her colleagues answered the question before Dr. Gay was asked to do so, and had time to anticipate and consider her answer. Factoring in her extensive experience and preparation with a crisis management team, Dr. Gay’s testimony before Congress cannot be seen as merely a slip of the tongue.”
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“Our firm does not typically comment on statements made, or positions taken, by those in our network. Nonetheless, when certain boundaries of morality and ethics are transgressed, silence is not an option,” Edelson continued. “It must be unequivocally clear that calls for the genocide of any group—be it on the basis of religion, race, gender, disability, or sexual orientation—are indefensible and contrary to the values we uphold. As lawyers, we know that words can be powerful. Dr. Gay was in a position to help lead the country. She did the very opposite.”
Gay issued a statement following her testimony, saying that people were “confused” about the meaning of her testimony, insisting that she was only defending students’ “right to free expression.”