Kagan Joins Critics of Boycott Proposal

Elena Kagan, the dean of Harvard Law School, has joined over 100 leaders of other law schools around the country in signing a statement denouncing comments made by a senior government official who suggested that corporations should shun law firms that represent suspected terrorists.

Charles “Cully” D. Stimson, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for detainee affairs, sparked outrage from the legal community after urging corporations to cut their ties with firms that have lawyers doing pro bono work for Guantánamo Bay detainees on Federal News Radio last Thursday.

“The purpose of the letter is to express real disappointment that this point of view was coming out of the defense department and to reiterate our view of the important principle of American law—that everyone is entitled to good representation,” Kagan said.

Emily A. Spieler ’69, the dean of Northeastern Law School, and Harold H. Koh ’75, the dean of Yale Law School, co-authored the letter, which was sent to newspapers around the country and posted online.

“Our American legal tradition has honored lawyers who, despite their personal beliefs, have zealously represented mass murderers, suspected terrorists, and Nazi marchers,” the letter, dated Monday, said. “At this moment in time, when our courts have endorsed the right of the Guantánamo detainees to be heard in courts of law, it is critical that qualified lawyers provide effective representation to these individuals.”

Kagan said that the views expressed in the deans’ letter are shared by the “vast majority” of the legal profession, and that Stimson’s comments demonstrate an “uninformed understanding” of the basic precepts of American law.

In his interview with Federal News Radio, Stimson listed the names of several major law firms with lawyers defending Guantánamo detainees, suggesting that they be boycotted. Though these lawyers—coordinated by the Center for Constitutional Rights—work pro bono, Stimson suggested that they were “receiving moneys from who knows where.”

“And I think, quite honestly, when corporate CEOs see that those firms are representing the very terrorists who hit their bottom line back in 2001, those CEOs are going to make those law firms choose between representing terrorists or representing reputable firms,” Stimson said in the interview.

The legal experts attacking Stimson’s comments do not seem to be encountering much opposition themselves, a fact not surprising to Kagan. She herself has received no criticism for signing the letter.

“What was surprising were the comments made by Cully Stimson—even to members of the administration,” said Kagan.

“There is no one that agrees with Mr. Stimson’s statement,” said Beneficial Professor of Law Charles Fried, who served as solicitor general under President Reagan.

Kagan, who served as associate counsel to President Clinton and before that was one of his top domestic policy aides, is frequently mentioned as a leading contender for the Harvard presidency.

—Staff writer Jamison A. Hill can be reached at jahill@fas.harvard.edu.