Back in 2023, a number of Biglaw firms put out a letter blaming law schools for antisemitism. The letter offered little in the way of a concrete response to the rise in antisemitic hate crimes in the country, but it did allow law firms to generate some headlines and heap the blame on someone else.
Sidley attorney Melat Kiros drafted a lengthy piece calling out the Biglaw letter for conflating antisemitism with foreign policy criticism, arguing that firms needed to do a better job delineating antisemitic harassment that is rightly denounced and critiquing a geopolitical conflict — the latter she described as the sort of core political speech that forms “the bedrock principle of a true democracy.” Without this distinction, she argued, “the chilling effect is undeniable” on attorneys worried about their jobs.
And now she’s headed to Congress:
Democratic socialist Melat Kiros has won the race to represent Colorado’s 1st Congressional District in the House, according to a race call by The Associated Press, marking the first time a Gen Z woman will serve in Congress.
Kiros, a 29-year-old Ethiopian immigrant and lawyer, cruised to victory Tuesday night in the reliably blue district, which includes most of Denver.
Kiros knocked off a 15-term incumbent in the primary before winning the general by a little over 64 points. As for her age, she told NPR:
“Young people understand that we are in the fight of our lives,” she said. “We need to have leaders that are going to be fighting for the kind of bold policies that actually get something done, and they’re refusing to settle or wait for our turn or ask for permission.”
Though, in a sense, she got permission when Sidley fired her rather than hear her out. Without that nudge, she may well be sitting in an office right now refreshing Above the Law to see if Sidley matched the Milbank compensation scale yet.
It has not, by the way.
Earlier: Attorney Warns Biglaw’s Antisemitism Letter Makes Lawyers Worry About Getting Fired, Gets Fired
Biglaw Firms Tell Law Schools To ‘Pls Hndle Thx’ Antisemitism
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.
The post Sidley Attorney Fired After Open Letter To Biglaw Elected To Congress appeared first on Above the Law.
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