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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP here. Meant to mention that I am also a former Big Law partner (at another firm that has been targeted). I am baffled by how this passed the full partnership.  As someone said up thread, this negotiating was crap. Gave away way more than needed.  I would not want this firm handling a major matter for me.

I can only assume the rest of the partnership had no idea.

Do we think this managing partner, who
Bundles money for DS, panicked and thoughjr this was the only way to save his job?[/quote]
Honestly, at this point, behind-the-scenes blackmail is starting to make sense as an explanation for how SO many have capitulated without a fight. Paul Weiss, Columbia, Schumer, Disney, the hosts of Morning Joe, all of the who's whos of Silicon Valley from Alphabet to Apple to Meta to OpenAI, and so many more. This isn't the first time institutions and public figures have been targeted by an administration with autocratic aspirations (Dubya comes to mind). I can't recall having seen this type of rolling over and showing of the belly by the powerful since McCarthyism, however.[/quote]

But that’s just it. It’s McCarthyism  combined with early 1930a history. History these people have forgotten. Appeasement doesn’t work. It just leads to being complicit.

All those people who reflexively say “never again” on Holocaust Remembrance Day should wake the f&ck up. This is how you get to “again” - by trying to appease would-be dictators. Maybe the current dictator wannabe isn’t interested in murdering 12 million people or conquering territory, but that’s just our good fortune. Because the stage is being set for that to be accomplished if he or his successor wanted to go that route.

Paul Weiss, Columbia, Congress, and everyone else who is capitulating or hoping to profit or turn the moment to their advantage are cowards who have forgotten history they should know.

But a lot of us haven’t forgotten. And we will fight authoritarianism. [/quote]

How?

How will you fight it?

How should we fight it?

I’m a lawyer and my colleagues and I are fighting it, but it seems small and scattershot. Needless to say, it’s not really working (hard to curb illegal behavior when the administration ignores court orders and calls to impeach judges).

So, what’s the plan for the opposition party and individuals? [/quote]

I don’t have a comprehensive plan. But I do know bowing the knee isn’t it. Normalizing isn’t it. Rolling over and giving and and ignoring because it seems too big isn’t it. Individuals are protesting and using economic power, attorneys are suing on their behalf (and winning), some firms like Perkins fight back. Speaking out and refusing to concede are crucial. That’s what we do to start and see where momentum goes. But there is none if everyone just submits at the first sign of challenge. [/quote]

Right.

That’s what we are doing…but it’s not really moving the needle.

Where’s the leadership?

Where’s the organized opposition?

The demonstrations are too small.

The lawsuits are whack a mole solutions to single issues…and are meaningless when the administration refuses to comply.

Why hasn’t anyone figured a way to kick musk out?

Why isn’t congress concerned enough to take action? Heck, why are certain Dems sniping at each other instead of rallying the party to March in lockstep against the dismantling of our government?

And why the hell did a law firm bend over backwards to pay Trump $40M???

^^^
Now he knows he can bully anyone and win. Why not continue down that path?

Again: my day job is basically advocating against the dangerous things this administration is doing. And I don’t own a Tesla. And I don’t shop at target. Etc. What else can be done? Litigation will continue. Daily emails to the Hill will continue. But it’s not enough.

[/quote]

It's not enough but it's a start. Now the important thing is to keep it going, like when you're building a snowman and you roll it around the yard and keep picking up more snow and solidifying it.

I hear you, it is frustrating. I'm frustrated. I'm a lawyer too and the open attack on the Constitution and the courts, and Congress's complete abnegation of its duties - and worse, its complicity -- drives me insane. But I never expected much from politicians. Most modern politicians are cowards. This isn't 1864, where people had true beliefs and would speak out and vote and die for them. Not this Congress, anyway.

But the important thing is the long haul. You can't go crazy and burn yourself out in the beginning. These are the opening battles in what promises to be a long, long war. The more the administration does, the more they reveal their true character to those who up til now didn't believe they'd really be "so bad." The more power grabs they engage in, the more they denigrate judges, the more they abuse the law, the more they lose the public and the higher the likelihood the Supreme Court will rule against them.

Trump and co. spent 4 years planning all of this. It's unrealistic to think it will be squashed in a couple of months, particularly with his grip on Congress. I choose to be encouraged that resistance is swelling and that it is organic. It will keep rising and growing and organizing, as the depredations get worse and the lawsuits continue. But it will die an early death if people give up.

Don't give up. Do what you can and continue to encourage others to do the same. I know I couldn't sleep at night if I hadn't, no matter the outcome. When my young children are grown, I want to be able to tell them I joined the fight and won. And if we don't win, at least I want to be able to tell them that I fought. Not that I turned aside for the sake of my bank account.[/quote]

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