The top-tier international law firms Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Covington & Burling, and Perkins Coie now know full well what William Shakespeare was getting at when more than 400 years ago he wrote: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
The famous but oft-misunderstood line from Henry VI, Part II has frequently been used to condemn the legal profession and perpetuate the stereotype of the corrupt, overpriced lawyer. But Shakespeare, a master at depicting the interplay of power and politics, had something else in mind: the character who wants to wipe out all the lawyers also wants to stage a coup. The remark, while comical, is a recognition that lawyers can stand in the way and that they act as guardians of justice and freedom.