Law Firms Unite to Defend Constitutional Democracy

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.