To: Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
From: Undersigned Law Students

The science is clear – we have just a few years left to avert climate catastrophe.

That is why, at this do-or-die moment in human history, law students across the country are joining together to send a message: we won't work for you while you work for ExxonMobil.

Paul Weiss is currently defending Exxon in at least a dozen suits against the public for their role in the climate crisis. According to climate leaders like Bill McKibben, Exxon “helped more than any other institution to kill our planet.” This corporate polluter knew the truth about climate change 35 years ago, yet continued to fund a decades-long campaign of deception and misinformation that led us to this moment of climate crisis.

And Paul Weiss is enabling it all.

Ted Wells, a partner at Paul Weiss, worked for years defending Big Tobacco as the industry trotted out fake experts and promoted conspiracy theories to shirk responsibility for the health impacts of smoking. Wells is using the same unethical playbook today to shield Big Oil, prompting the attorney general of Massachusetts to call Paul Weiss’s legal strategies “absurd” and “blatantly obstructionist.”

As future lawyers, we have a choice. Will we commit ourselves to enabling corporations to continue putting human civilization at risk of climate catastrophe? Or will we dedicate our careers to making a positive impact in our communities and helping build a more just and sustainable future?

We're making our choice. That's why we pledge that we will not interview with or work for Paul Weiss until they #DropExxon and join us in fighting for a livable future.