Kirkland & Ellis will no longer require associates andsummer associates to sign mandatory arbitration agreements.

The change comes after a group of Harvard law students last weekcalled on classmates to boycott the firm during the upcoming summer associaterecruiting season unless Kirkland abandoned the 10-year-old policy.A Kirkland spokesman did not immediately respond to requests forcomment Wednesday on why the firm decided to do away with mandatoryarbitration for all associates, nor was it clear whether the policychange applied to firm staff as well.

"The firm committee periodically reviews firm policies to ensurethat they reflect best practices in the legal marketplace," readsKirkland's Wednesday message to all attorneys. "Following a recentreview, the firm committee has determined that the firm will nolonger require arbitration of any employment disputes that may bebrought by associates or summer associates."

The Pipeline Parity Project—the Harvard student group thatlaunched the boycott, dubbed #DumpKirkland—circulated the statementon Twitter on Wednesday.

"With this email, Kirkland reversed a10-year-old policy of requiring attorneys to waive theirrights to sue over harassment, discrimination, and other workplacesabuses—a policy that the firm maintained despite widespreadscrutiny," reads a statement from the Pipeline Parity Project. "Twoweeks after the Pipeline Parity Project's #DumpKirkland campaignbrought renewed attention to Kirkland's unjust policies, the firmofficially dropped its requirement for arbitration of employmentdisputes brought by associates and summer associates."

Molly Coleman, a second-year law student and organizer with thePipeline Parity Project, said in an interview Wednesday that shewelcomes Kirkland's reversal on its use of mandatory arbitrationagreements.

"We're definitely excited," she said. "It's great to see thepower organizing can have, and that when you shed light on theissues, firms will respond."

But she cautioned that the Pipeline Parity Project remainsconcerned that staff and others at Kirkland may still be subject tomandatory arbitration, and that many other firms maintain suchpolicies, even if they aren't upfront about it.

Law students began to push back against mandatory arbitrationfor summer associates in March, when it was revealedthat Munger, Tolles & Olson used them. (The firmquickly did away with the agreements amid a slew of criticism.)Students from 14 elite law schools surveyed large firms and legal organizations about their use ofmandatory arbitration for summer associates, but fewer than half ofthe firms responded. Kirkland was among the nonrespondents, and thePipeline Parity Project made it the first boycott target because itknew the firm used mandatory arbitration agreements and becauseit's the largest firm in the nation by revenue.

As it celebrated Kirkland's change, the Pipeline Parity Projectwarned that other firms could be next.

"While we hope Kirkland & Ellis has ended their use offorced arbitration once and for all, the real question is: who arewe dumping next?" said student organizer Vail Kohnert-Yount.