Law firm Sullivan & Cromwell screens job applicants over anti-Israel protests

A top law firm has set new rules for students applying for jobs following the pro-Palestinian university protests that have swept the world.

One of the world’s top law firms has implemented new standards for job applicants from America’s top law schools following antisemitic protests that swept universities across the world in the aftermath of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

Sullivan & Cromwell, which is headquartered on New York’s Wall Street and has offices in Sydney and Melbourne, states that individuals who participated in university protests should be held responsible for their actions, as well as the actions of those around them.

Students gather at Harvard University to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza at a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Picture: AFP

Students from Massachusetts of Technology and Harvard University protest Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Picture: Getty Images

The company told the New York Times that the firm will do background checks to scrutinise American applicants’ involvement with pro-Palestinian groups and campus protests, looking for examples of antisemitism.

The firm will screen students who apply from top law schools, including Harvard University, Yale College, Columbia University, and New York University, each of which had hundreds of students participate in anti-Israel protests.

Sullivan & Cromwell is a top Wall Street law firm. Picture: Getty Images

Applicants who have publicly used the phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” will be disqualified, Joseph Shenker, a partner in the firm told The New York Times.

Sullivan & Cromwell is the first Wall Street firm to publicly discuss such a rule, although four other top firms are considering a similar policy and some law firms in the US have rescinded job offers for students who participated in campus protests.

Last November, Sullivan & Cromwell joined hundreds of other firms in encouraging American law school deans to curb campus antisemitism.

“As employers who recruit from each of your law schools, we look to you to ensure your students who hope to join our firms after graduation are prepared to be an active part of workplace communities that have zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses,” the firms wrote.

“We trust you will take the same unequivocal stance against such activities as we do, and we look forward to a respectful dialogue with you to understand how you are addressing with urgency this serious situation at your law schools.”