December 17, 2008

GITMO Lawyers Are The Latest Radical Chic

Excellent Op-ed from WSJ.

Within the ranks of our leading law schools, law firms and legal centers, it would be hard to find a cause more popular than the detainees of Guantanamo Bay. Every lawyer wants his own detainee or detainee group. The result is that dozens of the world's most dangerous men now have their own legal Dream Teams.

In this context, wouldn't it be refreshing to hear the dean of some Ivy League law school, or a partner in a white-shoe law firm, stand up and say these words: "As part of our pro bono commitments, we hereby offer our services to the overworked men and women trying to keep our nation safe from terrorist attack."

These high priced lawyers would rather receive their "chic award" to add to their collection:

Last year, at a dinner at Washington's Ritz-Carlton hotel, the National Legal Aide Defender Association bestowed its "Beacon of Justice Award" on 50 law firms for their pro bono work on behalf of the detainees.

These firms included WilmerHale; Jenner & Block; Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan; Paul Weiss Rifkin; Mayer Brown; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Dechert; Pepper Hamilton; Venable; Perkins Coie; Hunton & Williams; and Fulbright Jaworski. These firms in turn are joined by law professors from Stanford, Yale and Northwestern right on down to Fordham.

The imbalance was illustrated by a scene last week at the federal courthouse building in Washington, D.C. There Judge Thomas Hogan was to consider rules governing the habeas corpus petitions of the detainees.

That meant half a dozen Justice Department lawyers waiting in a room packed wall-to-wall with high-priced partners -- many backed up by legions of associates, outside legal experts, human-rights centers, and concerned law students.

Hmmm, I wonder how many of these "concerned" groups were ripped off by the Madoff scandal Hopefully all of them.