Either there are two Paul Bryants who are Black attorneys in DC, or there is a back story

[pnwmom]

that didn't come out in the tweets yesterday about a Black attorney who was alleging police mistreatment in D.C.

Here's yesterday's DU post which included some tweets and the video of his confrontation with police. https://www.democraticunderground.com/100220587041

I haven't seen this recent incident covered in the regular media yet, which seems strange, since it would have been a big story. But maybe it's taking time to research the background. On August 5, there were reports of a Paul Bryant who was at odds with his former law firm, and even appeared to attempt to enlist Trump on his behalf. So is this the same Black lawyer?

Late last night, a former associate took to LinkedIn to accuse a Covington partner of calling him a racial slur. Paul Bryant, a former fifth-year corporate associate at Covington, claims that a partner engaged in this racial harassment in an effort to get Bryant to quit after he informed the firm that he “would not write SEC disclosures in support of anti-minority and anti-women based initiatives.” It’s not clear why the firm would try to convince someone to quit when they could simply fire them. Announcing a conscientious objection to performing firm work, while noble, provides relatively straightforward grounds for dismissal. The post says he was later fired after trying to discuss the issue further.

“The allegations made by Mr. Bryant against the firm and its partners are categorically false and repugnant,” Covington wrote in response to our inquiry about the post. “The firm will vigorously defend itself and our colleagues and intends to explore all available remedies in response to these outrageous claims.”

Since his first post, Bryant has asked for a $30 million settlement but also said he’s not going to federal court and imposed a deadline of tomorrow morning or “I will solicit the help of the President, Donald J. Trump to strike an adequate deal with Covington…. It is actually my faith that the Commander-In-Chief will hear of this story and provide the leverage I need to effect needed change in your system, a system which the President has rightfully began to investigate.” For the record, Trump actually targeted Covington already — they didn’t cave and signed the amicus brief supporting the firms fighting back. Bryant’s since announced that he’s “hereby delegating my power of attorney” to a retired Covington partner.

https://abovethelaw.com/2025/08/former-biglaw-associate-alleges-partner-used-racial-slur/


This is a Reddit thread from August 7 where people were discussing an attorney named Paul Bryant who might have been experiencing a bout of PTSD. The original post has been deleted but some comments remain. According to the posts, he had worked at Covington and had deleted his Linked In.

https://www.reddit.com/r/biglaw/comments/1mjzw1i/watching_paul_bryant_experience_a_mental/

[yardwork]

1. One of the big problems with authoritarianism...

...is that it causes and covers up a lot of bad behavior by a lot of different people.

When the populace can't trust the government or the courts, rumors and false accusations are uncontrolled. People with their own agendas muddy the waters. Fraud and corruption take over.

I have no idea whether this guy was actually attacked by Trump's thugs or not - and that's a huge problem. That's the crux of the problem.

No guardrails. That's what we're sinking into.

[chowder66]

2. I'm going out on a limb here but it struck me as odd that in the video the man said he was not crazy, he was sane.

I wondered if he was having some sort of personal event. It wasn't clear if he was just stating it out of frustration or what, so that's why I'm saying I'm going out on a limb. I have no idea.

Whatever the outcome I hope he will be okay.

[pat_k]

4. More background and image of now deleted LinkedIn post.

This guy sparked my interest.

He was interviewed 12/1/2022 on the War Room to Board Room podcast.

I just listened to a bit of the podcast. Impressive background. Impressive guy. Practicing in a niche of the law focused on creating, structuring, and documenting business deals and transactions.

There is a post from Covington & Burling congratulating him on being named to the National Black Lawyers Top 40 under 40 about four months ago.

Oddly, at least as of today, he doesn't show up in a search of the Top 40 under 40: https://nbltop100.org/find-a-lawyer/?_memberships=top-40-under-40&_search=Bryant#section-14-49 (Perhaps they "took this away" after his accusation? Or perhaps they haven't added the most recently named people yet?)

More details regarding the accusations against Covington & Burling, including a copy of his LinkedIn post, are in this article from the Washington Free Beacon :