In Time Of Political Unrest, Former Biglaw Managing Partner Told To 'Go Back To [His] Own Country'

This is incredibly troubling.

Trump FlagWith tensions seemingly at an all-time high in a nation that’s been largely torn asunder thanks to a political campaign that encouraged racism, xenophobia, anti-immigrant sentiment, and sexism, a deluge of hate crimes have been reported across the country since Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election. Perhaps you believed that events like this only happened in small towns in red states, and perhaps you believed that such things would never occur to those who work at Biglaw firms — but you were wrong.

We’ve already reported on a horrifying tale told by a Hispanic paralegal working at a Biglaw firm in the South, who claimed that an unnamed associate sexually assaulted her and threatened to do so again, stating, “Next time, I’ll grab you by the pussy, beaner.” Today, we have a chilling account of an incident that was experienced by the former co-managing partner of a prominent Biglaw firm in one of the most liberal states in America.

William Lee, a graduate of Harvard College and Cornell Law School, is an accomplished intellectual property litigator who served as the managing partner of Hale & Dorr from 2000 to 2004 before the firm merged with Wilmer Cutler & Pickering to form Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, which is now known as WilmerHale. Thereafter, he served as co-managing partner of the merged firm from 2004 to 2011. Lee was the first Asian-American to lead a major American law firm. Lee is also the first Biglaw partner to speak out about the racial animus he’s experienced in this time of great political upheaval.

Lee was wearing a suit and tie this summer and filling up the tank of his Mercedes-Benz SUV at a gas station in Wellesley, Massachusetts, when he was approached by a man wearing a “Wellesley Hockey Parent” shirt. The Am Law Daily has the rest of Lee’s story:

Bill F. Lee

Bill F. Lee

“Where does a guy like you get a car like that?” the man said to Lee, looking at the litigator’s vehicle.

Lee, whose parents came to this country from China in 1948, tried to defuse the situation. “From Herb Chambers,” he said, referring to a local car dealer.

“Why don’t you go back to your own country,” the man said, according to Lee.

“I don’t understand you,” Lee said.

“You mean, you don’t understand English,” the man said.

“I don’t understand ignorance,” Lee replied.

The Wilmer partner drove away, but the man followed in his car. When Lee pulled into a nearby police station, the man vanished.

Lee, who grew up as the only Chinese student in his school district, said he hadn’t heard a comment like that in four decades, and believes that the man was emboldened to say such a thing because of the current political atmosphere. “In the bluest of blue states, Massachusetts, a mile from Wellesley College, if someone tells you to go back to your own country, this can happen anywhere,” Lee said. “If this can happen to the managing partner of an Am Law 200 firm, what’s happening to the rest of the country?”

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Lawyers, please recognize that these outrageous incidents can, do, and will affect even those who have reached the highest echelons of the legal profession. Racial animus does not stop just because one is a partner at one of the profitable law firms in the country. Stand up, speak out, organize, and support one another in these times of uncertainty. The law is supposed to be a noble profession — let’s band together do what we can to prevent incidents like this from happening to each other and to other Americans.

In Wake of Election, Wilmer’s Bill Lee Reveals Troubling Incident [Am Law Daily]


Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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