Give In or Fight? Elite Law Firms Split on Trump

Constitutional concerns vs. worries about losing access

Author

Matt Davis
March 29, 2025

Greetings to all newcomers! I read the top story in the New York Times every morning so that you don’t have to. If you were forwarded this, you can subscribe here. I’m also doing a five-minute video version of this, each weekday morning at around 9 a.m. (depending on how long it takes me to read the newspaper). If you’d like to follow me on LinkedIn (you can always watch the recording later). If you subscribe to my Youtube channel it’ll also send you a notification when I’m “going live.”

There’s a picture of the earthquake devastation in Myanmar on today’s front page.

This morning’s lead story by Michael S. Schmidt, Matthew Goldstein and Devlin Barrett continues the story from a week ago about leading law firms. You may recall that Paul, Weiss agreed to do $50 million in pro bono work for Donald Trump rather than defend itself from illegal attacks on constitutional grounds because at the end of the day, profits of $7 million per equity partner matter more to its key people than upholding the rule of law in a democracy. Since then a bunch of Paul, Weiss’s competitors have pounced on the firm trying to recruit its best attorneys and clients, because it turns out many attorneys do not want to lick Mr. Trump’s boot.

I would like to be amongst the many people to say: That’s some weak sauce, Paul, Weiss.

Now a “split” is emerging in the legal profession “between those that want to fight back against President Trump’s attacks on the industry and those that prefer to engage in the art of the deal,” the story reports.

I know which side I’d choose personally, but how about you? Take the money?

Two big firms sued the Trump administration on Friday, seeking to stop executive orders that could impair their ability to represent clients. The lawsuits filed by Jenner & Block and WilmerHale highlight how some elite firms are willing to fight Mr. Trump’s campaign targeting those he doesn’t like, while others, like Paul Weiss and Skadden, have cut deals to appease the president.

That’s right. Mr. Trump has issued several executive orders against law firms that he perceives as enemies and threats to national security. It’s a bit like that time I said your mom was a threat to national security. There’s nothing legal about any of it, Donald Trump just… doesn’t like your mom.

These orders “could create an existential crisis for firms because they would strip lawyers of security clearances, bar them from entering federal buildings and discourage federal officials from interacting with the firms.”

On the other hand, capitulating to this kind of nonsense also creates an existential threat to law firms because everybody loses respect for them. If Paul, Weiss or Skadden are your law firm right now, even if you’re Exxon, do you feel great about it? Does it reflect your long term interests? Skadden, incidentally, went second, and agreed to do $100 million of pro bono work for Trump. They’ve faced less criticism in the press over the last seven days as a result, but their decision shows even less courage and is even more remarkable. It’s just about the money.

“A large part of this are business decisions being made by law firms,” said Rebecca Roiphe, a former prosecutor and a professor at New York Law School who specializes in legal ethics. “These firms are calculating that their clients will feel aligned with their decisions.”

Meanwhile, here’s a law professor on the law firms who are pushing back.

“I am heartened by the fact that Jenner and Wilmer are joining Perkins in pushing back on these illegal executive orders. It shows that capitulation is not the only route,” said Matthew Diller, a law professor and former dean of Fordham University School of Law. “In the long run, it will strengthen their reputations in the market as forceful advocates who stand up for principle, a quality that many clients will value.”

Here’s Jenner & Block’s special website created to highlight its resistance, rather than advertise Viagra (although the choice of blue, along with the metaphor, is unfortunate):

I must say that for any law firm to stand up a website in less than a week is nothing short of a miracle. The law part, too, takes the basic requirement of being able to read the law and decide you want to stand up for it, apparently. Less miraculous, but still. No good deed goes unpunished.

“Jenner & Block said in a statement that its suit was intended to “stop an unconstitutional executive order that has already been declared unlawful by a federal court.” A third firm, Perkins Coie, has also sued the Trump administration over the same matter, and had some early success in stopping the executive order.

Two judges have already ruled in favor of the resisters.

On Friday evening, Judge John Bates of Federal District Court in Washington issued a temporary restraining order that bars the Trump administration from punishing Jenner & Block. The judge called the portion of the executive order that criticizes the pro bono legal work the firm does for organizations “disturbing” and “troubling.”

Later Friday, another federal judge in Washington, Richard Leon, issued a temporary restraining order granting WilmerHale most of the relief the firm sought from the executive order against it.

Good show, folks.

Mr. Trump, as we all know, has gone after law firms he has accused of “weaponizing” the legal system. What that actually means is using the legal system to hold Mr. Trump accountable for breaking the law. His behavior is that of a dictator looking to push back against checks and balances and of course, your mom. It’s that sophisticated. He is just acting like Tony Soprano, here, albeit with less charisma and one would hope, violence.

Why would Tony go after these folks, though? Oh…

The executive orders against both Jenner & Block and WilmerHale focused, in large part, on the work of lawyers with the federal investigation into ties between Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. The investigation was led by a special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, a former director of the F.B.I. who was a partner at WilmerHale.

As a reminder, the Mueller investigation…

—Produced 37 indictments; seven guilty pleas or convictions; and compelling evidence that the president obstructed justice on multiple occasions. Mueller also uncovered and referred 14 criminal matters to other components of the Department of Justice.

—Trump associates repeatedly lied to investigators about their contacts with Russians, and President Trump refused to answer questions about his efforts to impede federal proceedings and influence the testimony of witnesses.

—A statement signed by over 1,000 former federal prosecutors concluded that if any other American engaged in the same efforts to impede federal proceedings the way Trump did, they would likely be indicted for multiple charges of obstruction of justice.

It also showed that Russia had interfered in the election on Mr. Trump’s behalf.

Mr. Mueller went back to WilmerHale after the investigation and one of his key assistants, Andrew Weissman, went back to Jenner & Block.

Jenner & Block’s complaint said Mr. Trump’s action was unconstitutional and would compromise the ability of the firm’s more than 500 lawyers to “zealously advocate for its clients.”

…

In a statement, WilmerHale, which has about 1,000 lawyers, said the president’s executive order “is a plainly unlawful attack on the bedrock principles of our nation’s legal system — our clients’ right to counsel and the First Amendment.”

…

Perkins Coie, one of the first law firms targeted by Mr. Trump, sued him earlier this month. A federal judge temporarily halted Mr. Trump’s order, saying it was likely illegal and adding: “It sends little chills down my spine.”

Mr. Trump also went for Paul, Weiss because a former partner a the firm worked in the Manhattan district attorney’s office in trying to build a criminal case against Mr. Trump.

It appears necessary for the Times to spell this out, but “One pattern of the executive orders is going after law firms that have employed attorneys whom Mr. Trump’s sees as his personal enemies.”

It’s disgraceful. The law firms that have capitulated are a disgrace. The law firms that are fighting back deserve praise and maybe not a medal, but at least, a round of applause. 👏🏻

Thanks for letting me read the newspaper for you so that you don’t have to.

Matt Davis lives in Manhattan with his wife and kid.