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It was only a few days ago that reports flew around Biglaw that Brown Rudnick was representing rap star Kanye West. And not just any partner was reported to helm the representation, but Camille Vasquez — the partner who crossed over from legal powerhouse to pop culture phenom for her successful representation of Johnny Depp in his defamation case against Amber Heard.
West certainly needs the legal help since he’s been on a whirlwind tour of problematic behavior. He launched antisemitic attacks on social media that got him booted from Twitter. He spread vicious, unfounded rumors that it wasn’t former police officer Derek Chauvin that caused George Floyd’s death but rather fentanyl — and as a result is facing a $250 million lawsuit. He wore a “White Lives Matter” shirt to his Yeezy fashion show. And he’s lost deals with Balenciaga and Adidas as a result.
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Now he’s also lost his high-powered lawyer.
TMZ is now reporting that because Ye is refusing to back away from his hateful words of antisemitism, the firm *is* backing away from the rapper:
Sources with direct knowledge tell us after Kanye doubled and tripled-down on his anti-Semitic remarks over the weekend, Camille informed her firm, Brown Rudnick, she would no longer work with Kanye.
We’re told Brown Rudnick still attempted to work with Kanye, but only under the condition he publicly retract his hateful and anti-Semitic words. Our sources say Kanye refused to do so, and fired Brown Rudnick.
Whatever the reason, it feels like a smart move for the firm. No Biglaw firm wants to deal with doubts about its stance on antisemitism from clients and associate candidates.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).