(Photo by www.flickr.com/photos/professorcooper/)
John Burlingame is the global co-chair of the litigation practice at Squire Patton Boggs. He’s also the president of the Washington Golf and Country Club in Arlington, Virginia. It’s in the latter role that Burlingame is courting controversy.
Seems the club is looking to make some capital improvements (to the tune of $5 million), and on the list of improvements is a renovation of the Men’s Grill. And, as the name implies, this place bars women. And some of the club’s members — 100+ of them — are downright pissed so much money is being spent on a restaurant not everyone can enjoy. From the letter sent to the club’s board objecting to the plan: “[W]e have serious concerns about investing $5 million (at an increased monthly cost to members) in a project that maintains a separate Men’s Grill, limits co-ed space available for the Tap Room expansion, and unnecessarily duplicates bar/dining features that will remain inaccessible to women.”
Politico reported on the controversy, and spoke with anonymous members of the club who dished on the Biglaw partner’s role in the controversy:
“One of the things about a bubble of privilege is that people sometimes get away with things that would never be tolerated in their professional lives,” said one member who was granted anonymity to avoid losing their (expensive) club membership. “John Burlingame is a respected man in his profession, and it’s hard to square that with this grossly misogynistic and outdated agenda he is leading in his personal life.” Another member defended Burlingame amid the “unenviable position” they said he’s in but added that he is “missing the opportunity to lead our club in a critical discussion about this anachronistic tradition.”
After the letter, as well as an additional 17 letters from members in their individual capacity that were received, the club emailed members and told them they are “actively assessing opportunities to adjust and refine the Capital Plan presented in February.” The club noted “members have the opportunity through the club’s governance structure, including standing committees, to propose changes to the club’s facilities and operations.” And they admitted the plan is controversial, saying it “generated a variety of viewpoints.”
But don’t get too excited — this isn’t a victory for gender equality.
The FAQs flatly answered “no” on questions about whether the board would end gender-specific lounges and requests in the letter to hold an open discussion and debate about the issue. The women’s lounge is much smaller than the men’s space and has many fewer amenities, members say.
It’s fairly wild that in the year 2024 some people are willing to go so hard for a single-sex restaurant. You’d really think we’d be better than that.
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 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
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