Some of the nation’s top law firms that folded to Donald Trump’s pressure campaign are now facing the fallout.
At least 11 major companies are shifting legal work away from firms that struck deals with the Trump administration, instead turning toward those that stood their ground, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
General counsels at various companies told The Journal they doubted whether firms that surrendered to Trump could still be relied upon to represent them—in court or at the negotiating table—if they couldn’t stand up for themselves.
Oracle, Morgan Stanley, Microsoft and McDonald’s are reportedly among the big name businesses to distance themselves from those legal firms, either by scaling back work, voicing concerns or parting ways.
In one case, The Journal reported, a firm that cut a deal with the Trump administration reportedly stopped representing McDonald’s in a high-profile lawsuit months before trial. In another, Microsoft put concerns in writing to one of its go-to firms.
A top executive at one company told The Journal her employer plans to transition work away from Paul Weiss, which lost four of its partners after entering a deal with the White House.
A general counsel at a separate company told the newspaper she felt “physically ill” when Paul Weiss struck the agreement.
In February, Trump began waging war on law firms that had crossed him in past cases or political fights. Through executive orders, his administration threatened firms with access restrictions, canceled government contracts and revoked security clearances.
He rescinded executive orders against firms in exchange for pledges of pro bono work aligned with his government’s priorities, often worth tens of millions of dollars.
The firms that made deals with the administration include Kirkland & Ellis, Skadden, Simpson Thacher, A&O Shearman, and Latham & Watkins. Collectively, the pro bono work promised by the firms that yielded adds up to roughly $1 billion.
Another firm that made a deal was Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which employs Doug Emhoff, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband. Emhoff joined the firm in January, and according to The New York Times, unsuccessfully advised his leadership to fight back.
Firms that have hit back with lawsuits, however, have been handed resounding victories in court, with multiple federal judges striking down his orders as an overreach of executive power.
