Law Firms Unite to Defend Constitutional Democracy
Firm News | 4 min read | 01.08.21
Washington – January 8, 2021: Eighteen law firms joined Crowell & Moring to urge Vice President Mike Pence to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to remove the President from office for being a “reckless and wanton threat to the Constitution that he pledged to preserve, protect, and defend.”
The law firms sent a joint letter to the Vice President noting that they had “watched in horror as the U.S. Congress was subject to a mob’s raid and occupation of the Capitol, interrupting one of the most sacred traditions in our orderly transition of Constitutional power: the receipt and certification of the ballots cast by the states to the Electoral College.
It was a scene framed by forcible illegal entry, assault on law enforcement officers, and senseless death. It was the direct and predictable result of a rally summoned by the President, at which he reinforced false claims of a rigged election that have been rejected or outright disproven by every public and judicial review of our November 2020 presidential election. It was a riot incited by the President’s own words addressing that rally, and then excused by his words after it.
Lawyers have no special province when it comes to politics. We have our views, like all citizens, and we should act on them. But when it comes to defending our Constitution and our system of laws, we have a special duty and an exceptional perspective. In this moment, we must speak out, in devotion to these bedrock principles of our nation. As leaders of the legal community, we call for action.
The President has proven himself unfit for office, and a reckless and wanton threat to the Constitution that he pledged to preserve, protect, and defend. We implore you, individually or in combined effort with members of the Cabinet, to invoke Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, and to declare to the leaders of Congress that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. We will continue to urge all members of the legal community to join in this call, and to stand up for the democratic institutions and traditions of our republic and the Constitution that gives them life and protection.”
Signed by:
Crowell & Moring LLP, by its Management Board
Philip T. Inglima, Chair
Gregory D. Call
Ellen M. Dwyer
Peter J. Eyre
Cheryl A. Falvey
Daniel R. Forman
Keith J. Harrison
Glen G. McGorty
Kris D. Meade
Kirsten L. Nathanson
Jennifer S. Romano
Daniel A. Sasse
Amin Talati Wasserman LLP by
Ivan Wasserman, Managing Partner
Baker Thomas Oakley Greene PLLC by
Gretchen Greene, Rex Baker, Matthew Thomas, and Aaron Oakley
Brinks Gilson & Lione by
Gustavo Siller, President
Coburn & Greenbaum PLLC by
Barry Coburn
DLA Piper by
Frank Ryan, Chair
Farella Braun + Martel LLP by
Brian P. Donnelly, Managing Partner
Foley Hoag LLP by
Jeffrey D. Collins, Co-Managing Partner
Hanson Bridgett LLP by
Kristina Lawson, Managing Partner, and the firm’s Management Committee
James Nichols, Chief Operating Officer
Laura Long, Chief Financial Officer
Jennifer Martinez, Partner and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer
Bradford Hise, Partner and General Counsel
Kendall Brill & Kelly LLP by
Richard B. Kendall, Managing Partner
Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC by
Eric L. Lewis, Senior Partner
Kenneth Reich Law, LLC by
Kenneth A. Reich, Stephen J. Reich
McNerney & McAuliffe
Mark P. McAuliffe, Daniel P. McNerney
Phillips Nizer LLP by
Marc Andrew Landis, Managing Partner
Shaheen & Gordon by
Michael Noonan, Managing Partner, William H. Shaheen, Steven M. Gordon and with the unanimous support of the Directors
Sullivan & Worcester by
Joel R. Carpenter, Managing Partner
Vandevert Trade Law PLC by
Paul Vandevert, Principal
Wilson Williams LLC by
William A. Wilson III
WTAII PLLC by
Warren T. Allen II, Ray D. McKenzie, and Gary A. Rubin
Signing in their individual capacities:
Dawn Elaine Bowie
Joseph A. Hayden, Jr., Pashman Stein Walder Hayden
David A. Vicinanzo, Nixon Peabody LLP
About Crowell & Moring LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 550 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity, equity and inclusion. The firm has offices in Brussels, Doha, London, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, San Francisco, Shanghai, and Washington, D.C.
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