Biglaw Partner's Social Media FAIL
When a partner goes public with controversial views, that can impact the firm's overall reputation and recruitment.
Oh, what a brave new world social media has wrought. It’s hard enough for millennials who have grown up with the technology to navigate ever-shifting social mores, but for someone older — say, a senior partner at a Biglaw firm — the task can be daunting.
Take, for example, the case of Richard Sybert, senior partner at Gordon & Rees. He’s trying to be “with it,” joining Twitter in late 2013, and amassing a whole 27 followers. But his ultra-conservative views are occasionally offensive and not the best PR image.
Listen, there have always been partners with strident political views they feel honor-bound to share to anyone within shouting range, but historically that was a surprise — something young attorneys learned only once ensconced in the suffocating embrace of the firm. When a partner goes public with their Fox News-inspired views, that can impact the firm’s overall reputation and recruitment.
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Imagine you had an offer from Gordon & Rees. Would you knowingly sign up to working with a partner who goes on political rants like your drunk Uncle Sal at Thanksgiving dinner?
Let’s take a perusal of Sybert’s “greatest” tweets…
First up, a recent tweet that is patently offensive.
https://twitter.com/RichardSybert1/status/615194707384111104
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If you are a LGBTQ potential client, are you going to give your business to a partner who doesn’t think you are “natural or normal?” I think not.
https://twitter.com/RichardSybert1/status/611443666486366208
At ATL, our position on a new portrait on currency is clear: it should be RBG on the $20 (you know, if, God forbid, she were to die before 2020). It’s unclear why women’s rights are necessarily Marxist, but I guess the term Marxist is a scarlet letter in some circles.
https://twitter.com/RichardSybert1/status/574019455899987968
Add a dash of Islamophobia…
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https://twitter.com/RichardSybert1/status/565717601054371840
Tut tut, those upstart pandemics! They just don’t respect geopolitical borders the way they should.
https://twitter.com/RichardSybert1/status/569718621036879874
Quick, someone let Lilly Ledbetter know her work is done. She’ll be so relieved.
https://twitter.com/RichardSybert1/status/554398762957672448
If this wasn’t so in-line with the rest of the Twitter feed, I’d assume this was a joke. So many issues in 140 characters or less. This just seems historically inaccurate, though. It’s safe to say that Sybert never expected the Spanish Inquisition.
We reached out to Gordon & Rees and Sybert to see if they had any comment. Sybert responded with a terse “Non-legal.” I take that to mean it is his personal account, not related to his legal practice. While that is true, it still reflects on the judgment and character of the tweeter, and that can have repercussions in a service industry.
Update 7/8/15 12:34pm: Looks like Sybert has scaled back his online presence — his Twitter account has been deleted, so you can no longer follow Sybert for all his inflammatory political opinions. But this is the internet, and things live there for forever. And this post will serve as a cautionary tale to all who wade into the social media waters.
