Back in June 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill to make Juneteenth an official federal holiday, memorializing the end of slavery in the United States. Before that momentous occasion, in the wake of protests that swept the nation following the George Floyd murder, Biglaw firms raced to meet the moment, stepping up one by one to announce that Juneteenth would be recognized as a holiday, giving employees the time to reflect on issues of racial injustice in America.
To our knowledge, these firms have declared Juneteenth a holiday, granting employees either half or full days off:
- Akerman
- Akin Gump
- Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholar
- Baker Botts (half day)
- Baker Donelson
- Ballard Spahr
- Boies Schiller
- Cahill
- Clifford Chance
- Cooley
- Covington
- Davis & Gilbert
- Davis Wright Tremaine
- Debevoise
- Foley Hoag
- Dorsey & Whitney
- Faegre Drinker (half day)
- Freshfields
- Fried Frank
- Greenberg Traurig
- Griesing Law
- Haynes and Boone
- Jackson Lewis
- Kelley Drye
- Kirkland
- Kramer Levin
- Latham
- Littler
- Loeb & Loeb
- Mayer Brown
- McDermott
- Moore & Van Allen
- Morgan Lewis
- Morrison & Foerster
- Munger Tolles & Olson
- Norton Rose
- Ogletree
- Patterson Belknap
- Paul Weiss
- Perkins Coie
- Polsinelli
- Reed Smith
- Ropes & Gray
- Schulte
- Seyfarth
- Shearman
- Sheppard Mullins
- Sidley
- Simpson Thacher
- Stroock
- Sullivan & Cromwell
- Vinson & Elkins
- Weil (opt-in)
- White & Case
- Willkie
- Wilson Sonsini
- Winston & Strawn
There are many, many more law firms in this country — where do the rest of the Am Law 100, Am Law 200, and elite boutiques stand as far as Juneteenth is concerned? Taking a step back from legal work to commemorate the day and encouraging all employees to reflect on the legacy of slavery sends a important signal from the top of the firm that this is a very important issue.
Please take our survey and let us know if your firm has declared Juneteenth a holiday. You can also email us, text us at (646) 820-8477, or tweet us @atlblog to let us know. Thank you.
Staci 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 X/Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.
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