Disclosure Forms Reveal Biglaw Partner's Salary, Despicable Clients

Another Trump nominee releases financials and we get another look inside the black box of Biglaw compensation.

A new administration is always good for anyone seeking inside intel on the workings of Biglaw’s biggest shops. It’s how we learned that Christopher Wray made way, way more at King & Spalding than most of his colleagues. Now we’re learning more about the black box that is Jones Day with the release of Eric Dreiband’s financial disclosure forms.

For the law nerds out there, the White House’s decision to nominate Dreiband to head the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ is the ultimate “screw you” staffing move of the still young Trump administration. Betsy DeVos may exhibit rank incompetence and “Kushner” will be the word we use for empty nepotism decades after the man’s existence has faded into memory, but it’s Dreiband who really shows what an administration that gives zero f**ks can achieve.

“Oh you have a whole division devoted to protecting civil rights? Let’s put a guy whose claim to fame is pushing the cartoonishly retrograde justifications for discrimination in charge!”

Most of his troubling representations were public knowledge, but for anyone not keeping track, his disclosure form may refresh your memory. Dreiband’s most recent headline grabber brought him to the defense of North Carolina’s “bathroom bill,” but it’s a disservice to the man’s record to assume that this was the only blemish on his civil rights record. He’s America’s go-to lawyer for entities unwilling to stand up and do the right thing by victims of discrimination. When R.J. Reynolds needed protection against claims they literally throw away applications from older people, Dreiband is there. When Bloomberg needed help dispelling accusations that it retaliated against employees who took maternity leave, Dreiband is there.

For the record, Dreiband represented the Trump campaign and it’s not even the most morally suspect entity on this form because he’s represented Abercrombie & Fitch before the Supreme Court. He tried to justify the clothier’s refusal to hire a Muslim woman for wearing a hijab. Antonin Scalia wrote the opinion shutting that down. Take a moment to consider how reprehensible a discriminatory policy would have to be for Scalia to write that opinion.

Obviously some discrimination claims are false, that’s the nature of the beast, but lawyers own their brand. His is taking on the discrimination cases that require the helping hand of appellate jurists willing to look the other way. That’s why it may be unfair to judge all lawyers by the clients they’ve had, but when their book of business starts to show a trend, it becomes a legitimate consideration.

Vanita Gupta, the last person to hold this particular job, harbors, shall we say, some concerns:

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“Whoever leads the ‘crown jewel’ of the Justice Department must have deep relationships with stakeholders and marginalized communities, and have a deep, abiding faith in our nation’s civil rights laws,” Gupta said. “They must respect the laws that touch everyone, rights that people have literally died for. They must respect the role of what has been called the conscience of the federal government. In all those regards, Eric Dreiband is woefully unqualified to lead the Civil Rights Division.”

He’s also woefully outgunned compared to Christopher Wray’s earning potential. While Wray was lapping his partners with a whopping $9.2 million a year, Dreiband is pulling down a measly $2.2 million. That’s still double the reported Jones Day PPP of a little over a million, but one might have suspected a bigger gap between Jones Day partners tackling high-stakes matters out of D.C. and, say, someone in Columbus (who is still doing important work… but not making it rain like someone in D.C. might).

In 1934, many questioned the decision to put the consummate Wall Street swindler, Joe Kennedy, in charge of the SEC. He turned it into an aggressive enforcement agency. Perhaps one of America’s most creative attorneys for attacking anti-discrimination laws will become their greatest defender.

Don’t hold your breath.

(Disclosure form available on the next page…)

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DOJ Civil Rights Nominee Earned $2.2M at Jones Day [National Law Journal]

Earlier: King & Spalding Pays Christopher Wray $9.2 Million A Year


HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.