‘Cut your own path it’s ok to be defiant… BigLaw is big, but for change we need giants’ 🎶
A US law firm has come up with a unique way of reminding aspiring lawyers that boutiques can offer top-notch work and experience just as well as the world’s biggest firms.
Edelson PC dropped ‘BigLaw Refuted’ (above) this week, a parody of ‘Farmer Refuted’ from hit musical Hamilton.
The animated short is set in the context of a law school careers fair where a BigLaw firm and Edelson have opposing stands. It begins with ‘BigLaw Guy’ taking aim at “the lawyers who preach revolution”, with some very witty lyrics:
“Heed not the lawyers who preach revolution,
This law firm will never survive,
Sneakers and sweatpants are no substitution,
For wearing a suit everyday.This culture does not speak to me,
Ignore them this isn’t a game,
Lawyers must follow tradition. Don’t sully,
Our name, Our name.”
Then the beat drops and that’s when ‘cool guy’ Edelson partner Ari Scharg jumps in. “Yo, he’d have you all believe that BigLaw means prestige, don’t buy it,” he raps. They both then engage in a war of words with Scharg responding to BigLaw Guy’s diss about their culture with “we practise passionately with creative tenacity”.
An animated Scharg, who by now has caught the attention of all of the students at the fair, reminds them:
“Know you have options, your future you control…
This is what it looks like when you don’t sell your soul.
Cut your own path it’s ok to be defiant…
BigLaw is big, but for change we need giants.”
The students then punch the air in agreement, with one even tearing off his tie.
Litigation “powerhouse” Edelson PC is “not a traditional law firm”, its website states. Its lawyers have quirky online profiles that include their fave emoji, desired superpower and how many cups of coffee they drink in a day.
And in a rather unusual move for a law firm, Edelson launched Edelson Creative in 2019 to “produce and host creative content generated by the firm and its artistic partners”. There are a fair few other rap videos on the platform’s YouTube channel, including its very own take on the viral Zoom cat filter clip of this week.
This isn’t the first take on a Hamilton classic we’ve seen from lawyers in the States. Two Texas-based federal judges were the unlikely stars of ‘We’ll be back’, a light-hearted take on ‘You’ll be back’ from the US musical, though theirs was COVID-themed.
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