The Two Letters - Being from Ethiopia Doesn't Get Melat Kiros Off the Hook from Understanding the Implicit Employer-Employee Contract in America

 That first letter. It had been sent from a number of law firms - ranging from Sidley Austin to Sullivan & Cromwell to Paul,Weiss - to a number of law school deans. As many interpreted that communication it seemed to contain a veiled threat that if perceived antisemitism wasn't stopped recruitment at those law schools could be.

I experienced the tone and content as, well, heavy-handed. And I have said just that in public venues. But I no longer do contract communications assignments for law firms. No residual looping remains since I have changed careers. 

When I did do law firm assignments, such as for Paul,Weiss, you bet, I avoided any tone or content even in non-related material which could throw shade on the clients. That's the way it goes. 

Since before doing assignments for law firms I had worked full-time for the Fortune 50, from the get-go I got the "it" - no open disagreement with those who sign the check. In fact, the "approval channel" is extensive in large corporations. It doesn't take going through it more than a few times to internalize what will fly and what could brand you as an idiot or even result in your being forced out. 

Among the almost 400 comments coming into the Reddit Big Law posting about Sidley's firing associate Melat Kiros essentially the consensus is that you don't disagree in a public forum with your employer's point of view or actions taken. The letter she published on Medium became the second letter. It received attention on professional network LinkedIn. Sidley requested she take it down. She refused.  Yes, she is from Ethiopia, which she documents on the "About" section of Facebook. However, she has been part of the "establishment" in the United States and at a very high level long enough to understand how the game gets played in America.

Incidentally, whether she was naive to not expect to be axed provides issues for a whole other story line. Anyway, come on, even if she had taken it down, she would have to endure plenty of heat and not only at Sidley. Those providing her work could have suffered guilt by association. This junior lawyer was toast. 

Here is the typical response on Reddit to the firing per se:

"Do people really expect to be able to publicly criticize the management of their firm and keep their job? This ain’t college."

No, this isn’t college. A job with a powerful law firm is very serious business. You don’t have to be an organizational behavior expert at a McKinsey or Deloitte to grasp what is implicit in the employer-employee contract. Had Kiros questions about that her network is extensive. She had plenty of sophisticated professionals to ask. 

 

In most cases you have only one shot in communications. Jane Genova is a communications coach and content-creator. Complimentary consultation (please text 203-468-8579 or email janegenova374@gmail.com)