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There are exceptions. City law firm Mishcon de Reya last week accused Queen Mary, University of London, of paying “lip service” over anti-Semitism on campus after Jewish students were reportedly subject to Hitler jokes.
The university responded: “We continue to ask everyone within our diverse and inclusive Queen Mary community to come together to support each other, with compassion, understanding and empathy for others’ pain.”
One explanation for the difference in law firm reaction is the size of the Jewish population in each country.
There are about 271,000 Jewish people in England and Wales, according to the UK’s 2021 census.
By contrast, the Jewish population in the US topped eight million people in 2020, which in turn has meant greater representation in the legal profession.
“You might think that there’s a lot of us because we have a number of people that have managed to get to senior roles in firms and as barristers, but the numbers [in a UK firm] are different compared to a New York firm,” says one London-based lawyer, who is Jewish.
‘They’re worried about safety’
A lack of representation has fuelled fears among UK law firms that vocal support of Israel could put employees in jeopardy, according to Dana Denis-Smith, founder of Obelisk Support, which supplies flexible legal services.
“[Law firms] feel that they are being protective in not being too loud about the issue,” she says. “They’re not sure what’s the right response but they’re worried about safety.”
Another possible explanation for the muted response is the weaker link between law firms and universities in the UK, some experts say.
“It’s different here. Law is an undergraduate subject whereas law schools in the States are graduate schools,” says Professor Graham Zellick, chairman of the UK Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.
“Many law graduates in the UK do not enter and have no intention of entering the legal profession, and half of lawyers here haven’t done law at university.”
US law schools are instead regarded as the gatekeepers to white shoe firms and trusted with producing a pipeline of new recruits, resulting in a more transactional relationship with US law firms.
Others have argued UK law firms are cautious about saying anything that could upset international clients, including those from countries hostile to Israel.
Jonathan Turner, chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, says: “They would be concerned about the risk of appearing to support one side or the other – especially if it is unnecessary because other organisations are dealing effectively with the issues.”
‘Isolated and unsupported’
It comes as companies that were quick to issue statements on the Black Lives Matter movement and the Ukraine war rethink their commitments to ethical and green goals, including whether they should be as vocal on political issues as before.
“Some workplaces are wondering whether that’s the correct thing that a workplace should do,” says Denis-Smith. “You’re a corporate entity, not an individual.”
Dentons, the world’s largest firm by headcount, came under such pressure when it deleted and replaced its response to the Israel-Hamas war after an initial statement was criticised for not recognising Palestine deaths, as first reported by Law.com.
However, the reluctance of UK law firms to intervene on campuses in fear of getting it wrong is being noticed.
As one Jewish City lawyer says: “The problem with not saying anything is that those people internally who are affected by it, they will be feeling isolated and unsupported by their organisation.”
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