Law firms warn universities about anti-Semitism on campus

Elite law firms are sending a message

As universities in the United States grapple with a rise in anti-Semitism since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, elite law firms are spotlighting schools. In a letter to some of the nation’s top law schools obtained by DealBook, about two dozen major Wall Street firms warned that what happens on campus could have business consequences.

“We expect you to ensure that your students who wish to join our company after graduation are prepared to actively participate in workplace communities that have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of discrimination or harassment, let alone ​​the kind that is happening right now. some law schools,” the firms wrote.

Among the companies that signed the letter are:

• Cravath, Swaine & Moore

• Debevoise & Plimpton

• Kirkland & Ellis

• Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison

• Simpson Thacher and Bartlett

• Skadden

• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

Another signatory, Davis Polk & Wardwell, withdrew job offers last month over letters blaming Israel for the Oct. 7 Hamas attack.

The letter follows a series of recent anti-Semitic episodes at universities. New York Governor Kathy Hochul tried to reassure Jewish students at Cornell this week after online posts threatening violence against them. Students at other schools have said the same feel increasingly unsafe amid rallies and other acts that in some cases have turned violent.

And school leaders have been criticized for ambiguity in their responses to both the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel and to anti-Semitism more broadly. (The University of Pennsylvania, which has faced a donor revolt, announced measures Wednesday including a task force on anti-Semitism.)

Big Law has enormous influence. Students at the schools that received the letter — fourteen top institutions, along with others with strong ties to the signatories — compete aggressively for jobs at the companies after graduation. And deans keep a close eye on job placement statistics.

School officials “realized too late that Jewish students are actually scared — they feel threatened and betrayed,” Joe Shenker, the senior chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell who spearheaded the letter, told DealBook.

Many companies say on-campus statements matter outside of school too, especially as students transition to customer-driven companies. The companies behind the letter urged schools to take this more into account when formulating academic policies.

“It is imperative that you provide your students with the tools and guidance to engage in the free exchange of ideas, even on emotionally charged issues, in a way that affirms the values ​​we all hold dear and unconditionally rejects that which conflicts is with those values,” they wrote.

The DealBook Summit is on November 29. Guests include Elon Musk of SpaceX, Tesla and X; Representative Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives; and David Zaslav of Warner Bros. Discovery. You can apply here to attend.

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

Can Apple absorb its decline in sales? That will be the big question on Thursday, as the iPhone maker has seen sales fell in each of the past three quarters, reports results. The stock has fallen more than 11 percent since July, amid a bigger decline in technology stocks.

Disney will take full control of Hulu. The entertainment giant will acquire Comcast’s 33 percent stake in the popular streaming service. But at what price? Disney said it would pay at least $8.6 billion, but Comcast believes it can raise more.

The trial against Sam Bankman-Fried goes to the jury. Closing arguments in the crypto fraud case were completed on Wednesday. The 31-year-old faces the equivalent of a life sentence if convicted of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering for his role in the collapse of FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange he founded. He has pleaded not guilty.

Uber and Lyft will pay $328 million to settle wage theft allegations in New York. The taxi companies were accused of unlawfully withholding drivers’ wages and failing to provide mandatory paid sick leave. Uber will pay $290 million and Lyft $38 million.

Investors like what they heard from the Fed

Stocks are pointing to modest gains on Thursday as investors hope the Fed is done raising rates.

That said, Fed Chairman Jay Powell made no such statement at a press conference on Wednesday. In fact, Fed policymakers have left open the possibility of another rate hike, and some economists are sticking by their forecasts of another rate hike.

But for now, the bulls are leading the way.

The futures market has lowered the chances of an interest rate increase to about one in four at next month’s meeting – down from the 40 percent level before Wednesday’s Fed decision to keep rates unchanged, according to Bloomberg. That optimism has pushed investors back into stocks and bonds.

The S&P 500 has risen for three straight days and the 10-year Treasury yield fell nearly 0.20 percent at one point Wednesday, the best performance for Treasuries since March, according to Deutsche Bank. (Bond yields fall as prices rise.)

Powell indicated that the Fed would proceed ‘cautiously’. Some Fed observers see this as evidence that the central bank will refrain from raising rates in an effort to limit damage to the economy as it battles to reduce inflation.

The bond market could take over some of the Fed’s work. Interest rates have been rising lately, driving up borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. “That will add more momentum to the economy without the Fed raising rates again,” Bill Adams, Comerica’s chief economist, wrote in an investor note on Wednesday. (Comerica is in the firm camp.)

Aditya Bhave, an economist at Bank of America, leans the other way, maintaining a forecast of a quarter of a percentage point rise in interest rates in December.

Next one: The Ministry of Labor will publish job figures on Friday, together with economists prediction that payrolls increased by 170,000 last month. A higher-than-expected figure could reverse calls that the Fed is done raising rates.

Splits cloud the British AI leadership

The UK government’s Artificial Intelligence Safety Summit was billed as the first event where global policymakers, companies and researchers came together to try to create guardrails.

But the Biden administration’s decision to announce its own security initiative and a schism among leading AI developers highlight the difficulty in reaching an international consensus.

The US may have stepped up efforts. Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, said on Wednesday that the American security institute would “develop the best standards” for regulating the safety and security of AI.

And Vice President Kamala Harris stole some of the spotlight before the meeting began by announcing details of how Washington would regulate AI following President Biden’s order requiring companies to assess national security risks before releasing their technology to the public.

The summit produced some results. Twenty-eight governments, including the US and China, have signed a declaration to cooperate on AI risk management. They also agreed to hold a second meeting in South Korea within six months and a third within a year in France. But critics said the communiqué lacked specific policy objectives.

On the plus side, Beijing and Washington’s signatures marked a rare collaboration between governments that disagree on virtually everything from technology to trade.

A feud between leading AI developers has spilled into the public spotlight. Yann LeCunMeta’s top AI scientist who supports open source development accused Google, OpenAI and others at the summit of “fear mongering” to ensure that only a small number of companies dominate the commercial AI market and influence how it is regulated.

Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google DeepMind, responded that it is important to push for regulation as early as possible. “I pretty much disagree with most of those comments from Yann,” he told CNBC.

On deck for Thursday: Elon Musk, who is attending the summit and has warned about the risks of AI, will take part in an interview with Rishi Sunak, the British Prime Minister, on X after the event.

“What was he even talking about?”

— Bill Ackmanafter interviewing fellow hedge fund magnate Ray Dalio on stage about the investment philosophy of Dalio’s firm, Bridgewater Associates.

Workers make and seek profits outside of unions

After the United Automobile Workers received major raises in wages and benefits following their naked strike campaign against major Detroit automakers, some analysts wondered whether non-union automakers should follow suit.

The answer, at least in one case, is yes. It’s a reflection of how aggressive union movements are rippling across industries.

Toyota increased the salaries of most American factory workers by 9 percent. just days after General Motors became the third of the Detroit Big Three to reach a deal with the UAW. The Japanese auto giant also pledged to reduce the amount of time it takes for workers to reach maximum pay and provide more paid time off, both of which reflect gains the union has made.

A Toyota spokesperson said the move was part of regular compensation reviews “to ensure we remain competitive within the automotive industry.”

Worth nothing: The UAW said it would try to organize factory workers at non-union stores, including Toyota and Tesla.

Workers elsewhere flex their muscles, seemingly inspired by the UAW and Hollywood unions. Non-union pharmacy workers at CVS and Walgreens stores are calling in sick or leaving their jobs in protest of what they say are working conditions. The measure is being called ‘Pharmageddon’ on social media.

And in Bangladesh, the world’s second largest clothing producer after China, so do thousands of garment factory workers brought onto the street to demand higher wages.

READING THE SPEED

Offers

• The European private equity firm CVC has postponed plans to go public as more companies scale back their IPO efforts in a troubled market. (FT)

• Apollo global management will rework the compensation of four top leaders, giving them $550 million in stock to make their compensation more dependent on stock performance. (FT)

• Amusement park operators Cedar Fair and Six Flags agreed to merge, creating a company valued at about $8 billion, including debt. (Cedar Fair and Six Flags)

Policy

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