Back
in
June
2021,
President
Joe
Biden
signed
a
bill
to
make
Juneteenth
an
official
federal
holiday,
memorializing
the
end
of
slavery
in
the
United
States.
Before
that
momentous
occasion,
in
the
wake
of
protests
that
swept
the
nation
following
the
George
Floyd
murder,
Biglaw
firms
raced
to
meet
the
moment,
stepping
up
one
by
one
to
announce
that Juneteenth
would
be
recognized
as
a
holiday,
giving
employees
the
time
to
reflect
on
issues
of
racial
injustice
in
America.
Unfortunately,
times
have
changed
since
then,
and
against
the
backdrop
of
Trump’s
sweeping
anti-DEI
declarations,
Juneteenth
celebrations
have
been
dimmed,
with
support
for
these
initiatives
being
pulled.
But
what
about
law
firms?
To
our
knowledge,
the
following
firms
have
declared
Juneteenth
a
holiday,
granting
employees
either
half
or
full
days
off:
- Akerman
-
Akin
Gump -
Alterman
Law
Group -
Arnold
&
Porter
Kaye
Scholar -
Baker
Botts -
Baker
Donelson -
Ballard
Spahr -
Blank
Rome -
Boies
Schiller -
Bradley
Arant -
Bryan
Cave
Leighton
Paisner - Cahill
-
Clifford
Chance - Cooley
- Covington
-
Davis
&
Gilbert -
Davis
Wright
Tremaine - Debevoise
- Dechert
-
Dinsmore
&
Shohl -
Dorsey
&
Whitney -
Faegre
Drinker -
Foley
Hoag -
Foley
&
Lardner - Freshfields
-
Fried
Frank -
Gibson
Dunn -
Goulston
&
Storrs -
Greenberg
Traurig -
Greenspoon
Marder -
Griesing
Law -
Haynes
and
Boone -
Hogan
Lovells -
Jackson
Lewis - Katten
-
Kelley
Drye -
Kiernan
Trebach - Kirkland
-
Kramer
Levin - Latham
- Littler
-
Loeb
&
Loeb -
Mayer
Brown - McDermott
-
Moore
&
Van
Allen -
Morgan
Lewis -
Morrison
&
Foerster -
Munger
Tolles
&
Olson -
Norton
Rose - Ogletree
-
Patterson
Belknap -
Paul
Weiss -
Perkins
Coie - Polsinelli
-
Reed
Smith -
Ropes
&
Gray - Schulte
-
Selendy
Gay - Seyfarth
- Shearman
-
Sheppard
Mullin - Sidley
-
Simpson
Thacher - Stroock
-
Sullivan
&
Cromwell -
Sullivan
&
Worcester - Venable
-
Vinson
&
Elkins - Weil (opt-in)
-
White
&
Case - Willkie
-
Wilson
Sonsini -
Winston
&
Strawn
There
are
many,
many
more
law
firms
in
this
country
—
where
do
the
rest
of
the
Am
Law
100,
Am
Law
200,
midsize
firms,
and
elite
boutiques
stand
as
far
as
Juneteenth
is
concerned?
Taking
a
step
back
from
legal
work
to
commemorate
the
day
and
encouraging
all
employees
to
reflect
on
the
legacy
of
slavery
sends
a
important
signal
from
the
top
of
the
firm
that
this
is
a
very
important
issue.
Please
take
our
survey
and
let
us
know
if
your
firm
has
declared
Juneteenth
a
holiday.
You
can
also email
us,
text
us
at
(646)
820-8477,
tweet
us @atlblog,
or
skeet
us
@abovethelaw.com to
let
us
know.
Thank
you.
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
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with
her
on LinkedIn.