U.S. law student organisations that are pushing to end the use of mandatory arbitration at law firms have stepped up the pressure by pledging to forgo funding or sponsorship from firms that require some or all employees in a dispute to submit to mandatory arbitration.

In an open letter released on November 6, LGBTQ+ student groups at 13 highly ranked law schools said they will no longer accept donations or promote law firms that use mandatory arbitration, and they singled out Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a firm that continues to use mandatory arbitration for certain employees. Harvard Law School Lambda, Michigan OUTLaws, UCLA OUTLaw and Yale Law School OutLaws have each severed ties with the firm, according to People’s Parity Project, which co-wrote the open letter with the Harvard group.