Leaders of 62 BigLaw firms denounce voting restrictions; coalition is formed to challenge legislation
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Law firms are getting involved in the controversy over voting restrictions, already passed in Georgia and under consideration in Texas.
Leaders of 62 of the nation’s top 100 law firms have signed a statement denouncing voting restrictions, as have 19 general counsels, report Law.com and Bloomberg Law.
“Equal access to voting is a fundamental right in the United States,” the statement says. “Making voting easier, not harder, for all eligible voters should be the goal of every elected official. Election laws that impose unnecessary obstacles and barriers on the right to vote and that disenfranchise underrepresented groups represent a significant step backwards for all Americans.”
The statement goes on to say that the signers “denounce all efforts to restrict the constitutional right of every eligible American to vote and to participate in our democracy.”
The statement was circulated to law firms and industry leaders by Lucy Fato, general counsel at AIG, and Brad Karp, chair of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, according to Bloomberg Law.
Karp also said a coalition is being formed “to challenge state voter suppression legislation and to support national legislation to protect voting rights and increase voter participation,” according to the press coverage.
The coalition is made up leading law firms and public interest groups, he said.
Firms in the coalition include Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Cravath, Swaine & Moore; and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, Karp told the New York Times.
The Brennan Center for Justice is among the groups working with the coalition.
