Sidley Drops Arbitration Demand for Would-Be Associates

Sidley Austin has become the latest Big Law firm to drop a requirement that associates agree to arbitrate disputes as a condition of employment, the firm has confirmed.

Sidley’s action comes in the wake of Kirkland & Ellis’s recent move to no longer require associates to sign similar agreements.

Kirkland acted after pressure from a group of Harvard Law School students, who had urged prospective summer associates to refrain from applying to the firm as long as the policy was in place.

Critics of mandatory arbitration clauses say they effectively force employees to sign away their rights to go to ...