To the editor: As a former equity partner at Louis Brisboa, Bisgow & Smith, I was appalled to learn that a Los Angeles law firm had been circulating racist emails for over a decade. These emails were written by two of his partners who recently separated from the company.
During my tenure at the firm in the 1980s and early 1990s, when minority representation in major law firms was disastrous, leadership sought to increase the racial diversity of its attorneys. My disappointment was especially great because I was
But now it’s hard to reconcile an environment that welcomes diversity with a place where two overtly racist and bigoted partners were previously on the executive board.
Your article states that two of the offending attorneys copied the emails of other attorneys in the firm. The fact that apparently no one warned about these emails during the same period suggests that racial animosity extends beyond two “bad apples” or, equally egregiously, these emails This suggests that employees who saw the email did not consider those emails to be a problem.
In any case, I hope my former company will judge how prevalent sympathy for racism is within the company and decide that it is appropriate to address the issue appropriately.
Agustin Medina, South Pasadena
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To the editor: Here is some key advice I received as a new attorney at Louis Brisboa, Bisgow & Smith: “Assume that everything you put in writing will be read by a judge.”
When reviewing my draft, my boss said I should reread the letter before posting it and imagine an adversary introducing it as courtroom evidence. Faxes were state-of-the-art back then, but this advice applies equally to emails, text messages, and anything else going forward.
I have followed that instruction ever since, but thankfully I will never know all the hardships this instruction has saved me. It’s a shame that lawyers John Barber and Jeff Lannen had to learn this lesson the hard way.
Edgar Saenz, Los Angeles
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To the editor: Thanks to excellent reporting that exposes the dark side of some of Los Angeles’ elite professionals, while also revealing the shocking bigoted and hateful emails of two high-ranking legal partners.
Perhaps the Pied Pipers and their ardent right-wing followers should consider going to Florida and setting up shop. The nasty political culture that Governor Ron DeSantis created there should welcome these guys with open arms.
June Maguire, Mission Viejo
