Boutique Law Firms

Barber Ranen Leaders Resign From Their Own Firm After Racist, Sexist, Antisemitic Emails Are Leaked

The rise and incredibly quick fall of a law firm thanks to its leaders’ inappropriate emails.

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facepalm fear shame embarrassed embarrassment face to palmEarlier today, we reported on the dozens of offensive emails exchanged between John Barber and Jeffrey Ranen, former Lewis Brisbois partners who left the firm, leading more than 100 lawyers away to join their new firm, Barber Ranen. While still at Lewis Brisbois, Barber and Ranen’s emails ran the gamut from racist to sexist to homophobic to antisemitic.

Per Reuters, Barber and Ranen have now tendered their resignations from Barber Ranen, at the request of the firm’s CEO Tim Graves.

According to the New York Post and Forward, Barber and Ranen sent emails using incredibly offensive language. Here are just a few of the derogatory emails called out by the Post:

“Kill her by anal penetration,” Barber emailed Ranen in June 2012, reacting to an overtime request from another Lewis Brisbois attorney. On at least three occasions, Ranen described female attorneys as “c–ts.”

In a March 2022 missive, a Los Angeles judge was described as “sugar t-ts.” when Barber joked about how the judge liked to be addressed.

In a November 2012 note, Ranen noted to Barber that another partner has “huge t–s.” That female partner has since decamped to Ranen and Barber’s new firm.

The Post then details several racist and anti-LGBTQ emails exchanged between Barber and Ranen, where the N-word is used frequently and homophobic remarks are made gratuitously.

These are just some of the antisemitic passages Forward reprinted:

In a Sept. 13, 2012 email, for example, Ranen wrote to Barber, “I forgot to write that we will not hire Jews” after the latter recommended a person — his or her identity was redacted by the company — for a litigation contract. In another email earlier that year, Ramen told Derek Sachs, a former partner at Lewis Brisbois, “This is the reason why people don’t like Jews,” in response to an invoice submitted to them. In a June 2012 email thread that begins with discussing a new hire, Ranen referred to Barber as a “Jew” for owing him money.

The pair also singled out observant Jews. In a January 2014 email, Ranen boasted to Barber that he deliberately emails a Jewish opposing counsel on Shabbat after the person requested that he not be sent material related to a deposition on Saturdays. “This Jew is cracking me up,” Ranen. “I almost ONLY write to him on Saturday mornings.” Barber responded, “Jew hater.”

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In a statement, Graves said in a statement that Barber Ranen — itself a very new firm — will “form a new firm,” and went on to note that its equity partners have expressed “their disappointment and disdain for the language Mr. Barber and Mr. Ranen used.”

UPDATE (6:45 p.m.): John Barber and Jeffrey have released the “Statement of Apology and Responsibility” they issued when resigning from the firm. Read it here in full:

We want to apologize. To everyone. To our families, our friends, our colleagues, and the public who had to read the thoughtless, hurtful and inappropriate words we used and sentiments expressed in the emails recently released by our former law firm. The last 72 hours have been the most difficult of our lives, as we have had to acknowledge and reckon with those emails. They are not, in any way, reflections of the contents of our hearts, or our true values. When we started this firm, we announced to the world the purest and truest description of who we are as men and leaders. We stand by those sentiments and insist they are the true measure of our character. Nonetheless, we know that words have power and whether spoken in private or public, they matter. We are ashamed of the words we wrote, and we are deeply sorry.

We have to be better, more vigilant and protective of our values and unfailingly consistent in representing those values in public and in private. We promise we will be. But that said, we understand that there are consequences for our actions. Therefore, we are resigning from Barber Ranen effective immediately in order to allow our friends and colleagues to continue on without the cloud of our conduct hanging over them. We will be taking time away to explore the ways in which we can most effectively demonstrate our contrition and commitment to a world characterized by inclusion, kindness and grace, all qualities we failed to demonstrate in our private correspondence.

Ex-Lewis Brisbois partners resign from new firm after racist, sexist emails found [Reuters]
‘Woke’ LA firm partners routinely used vile language to refer to women, POC, emails show [New York Post]
Prominent law firm partners routinely made offensive comments about Jewish people, internal emails show [Forward]

Earlier: Leaders Of Barber Ranen Exchanged Racist, Sexist, Antisemitic Emails For Years
Partners Lead Mass Defection From Biglaw Firm, With Up To 140 Lawyers Set To Join New Boutique

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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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