Law firms that caved to Trump are paying a steep price
Turns out, working hand-in-hand with President Donald Trump—especially when it means helping ram through his unconstitutional agenda—has its downsides. Just ask the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton.
According to a new report in The Wall Street Journal, some of the nation’s top law firms that caved to Trump’s pressure campaign are now facing serious backlash from their own clients. Corporate clients are pulling out, shifting work elsewhere, and openly questioning whether these firms can be trusted to represent them. It’s a fair concern: How can you fight for your clients if you can’t even fight for yourself?
Since Trump returned to office, at least nine major firms have folded, with many agreeing to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in pro bono services in causes that the Trump administration supports. The immediate reward is that those firms dodge sanctions and stay in Trump’s good graces, at least temporarily. But the longer-term cost is steep: They’re bleeding clients.
McDonald’s, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, and Oracle are among those scaling back, speaking out, or walking away entirely from these Trump-aligned firms. One firm stopped representing McDonald’s just months before a major trial. Another got a written rebuke from Microsoft.
Paul Weiss has become a case study in capitulation. One general counsel told the Journal she felt “physically ill” when the firm, once threatened by Trump, cut a deal in March. In exchange for avoiding sanctions that could have impacted its clients’ federal contracts, the firm pledged $40 million in free legal help for causes aligned with Trump’s agenda.
And they’re not alone. Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Skadden, Milbank, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, A&O Shearman, and Cadwalader have all made similar pledges. Together, these concessions add up to roughly $1 billion in legal services for a president who regularly tramples the rule of law.
Even Willkie Farr & Gallagher, where former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff now works, couldn’t resist. According to The New York Times, Emhoff urged leadership to stand firm. They didn’t.
It’s all part of Trump’s war on disloyalty. He’s retaliated against firms that crossed him, canceling their contracts, blocking their access, and yanking their security clearances. Then he dangles an ethically shady—and likely not even legally binding—“deal”: If they cough up free labor for his pet projects, he’ll stop swinging the hammer. For now.
Plenty of firms have taken the bait. But it’s a shame—and it’s backfiring. In this new climate, firms that bow to Trump risk looking like a legal arm of the White House. Clients are noticing, and they’re walking.
And it turns out, fighting back works. Three of Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms have been tossed out in court as unconstitutional. Those rulings, according to The American Lawyer, are forcing some firms to rethink whether capitulation is worth it.
Capitulating to Trump might buy short-term relief—but at a high price. These firms are hemorrhaging credibility, losing blue-chip clients, and tying their reputations to a man whose legal instincts are as shaky as his ethics.
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