“It Is Now or Never”: A Crossroads for Lawyers and Law Students

A panel conversation with guests Rachel Cohen and Massachusetts State Senator Lydia Edwards about this political moment and what it means for justice-centered law students and lawyers.

Rachel Cohen, a (former) third-year associate at Skadden and HLS alum, resigned last week in protest after Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison capitulated to the Trump administration. Cohen’s conditional resignation letter called on her firm and all firms to use their power  to speak out and stand up in this moment of a rising authoritarianism. Her stand is reverberating across the legal community and may be helping to ignite a broader reckoning about the moral responsibilities of powerful legal institutions. There are many news stories readily available online, and you can watch Rachel’s recent interview on PBS News Hour here.

Senator Lydia Edwards has served as a member of the Massachusetts Senate from the 1st Suffolk and Middlesex district since 2022.  Her extraordinary journey—from law school, to Big Law, to public interest lawyer for Greater Boston Legal Services, to community organizer, to movement lawyer, to elected Boston City Council Member, to State Senator—gives her a deep insight and a variety of perspectives regarding these urgent questions. Learn more about  Senator Edwards here.

• Pound 102
• Lunch Provided
• Stay tuned for updates here: nownever.org