Heroes and Knaves
As Donald Trump and his cronies escalate their assault on client representation by attorneys, some lawyers and law firms are standing up to the Republican Fascist bullying and some are capitulating. I am proud of the heroes and utterly disgusted by the knaves.
Paul, Weiss and its managing partner Brad Karp are so far the most appalling of the knaves. For those of you less familiar with big private law firms: Paul, Weiss is one of the more storied New York-based law firms, both because of its one-time reputation for excellence and for its historical ties to prominent Democratic lawyers and its progressive pro bono work. Last week, the firm struck a craven, self-serving deal with the Trump regime, which was menacing it with the same tactics Trump has deployed against Perkins, Coie and Covington & Burlington, two other large law firms Trump hates because of their successes in opposing him or in representing Democratic campaigns and causes or in defending individuals the Trump junta is witch-hunting. Rather than fight, as Perkins, Coie is, Paul, Weiss has agreed to let the White House monitor its hiring practices and to provide $40 million worth of pro bono legal services to Trump’s favored causes so that Trump won’t rescind Paul, Weiss’s security clearances or interfere too much with its government contracts practice. Today, managing partner Brad Karp’s internal apologia for this pathetic obedience was made public. It boils down to Karp saying that he was too scared that the firm would go broke to assert the independence from government the legal profession must have if it is to play a serious role in ensuring rule of law. In 2024, Paul, Weiss took in more than $2bn in global revenue, a 10.8% hike on 2023. The firm’s 178 equity partners took home an average of $6.5m in 2023, with profit per equity partner up 14.8% from $5.73m the previous year. I highly doubt the economic stakes for the firm were as existential as Karp claims but even if they were, there are far worse things than a law firm going out of business, let alone than its equity partners having to make less than an average of $6.5 million a year. Paul, Weiss sold out its own integrity and made it that much easier for Trump to menace the wider legal profession. If lawyers follow the Paul, Weiss playbook the profession will simply become a tool for a dictatorial executive branch. Being a lawyer like Brad Karp is a job for aspiring apparatchiks.
Fortunately, this week at least one young lawyer called out her then-employer New York based law firm Skadden, Arps over its silence in the face of Trump’s attack on big law firms. First, Rachel Cohen told Skadden what she expected of them. They then fired her. Cohen spoke to PBS News about what makes Big Law’s capitulation to Trump intolerable. I recommend the transcript or audio, available here.
Cohen wasn’t the only hero last week in the nascent fight for the soul of the legal profession. Law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters joined Bluesky to publicly protest Trump and to announce its support for Perkins Coie, with this post:
Every law firm in America should be doing likewise.
Leading attorneys in suits against the Trump regime continue to evince courage. Skye Perryman, head of Democracy Forward issued a new statement standing up to Trump. Marc Elias, who Trump continues to target by name, remains wholly uncowed, writing, “If you want to work for a law firm that will never bow down to Trump or stay silent when he attacks the legal system, we [Elias Law Group] are hiring.”
This country is in the midst of fighting for its survival as a constitutional democracy committed to pluralism and rule of law. The foe is the Fascist Republican regime, headed by Donald Trump. It is foolish, unethical and dishonorable for anybody to appease or accommodate a fascist; for a law firm or a lawyer to do so is particularly shameful; and for a wealthy, powerful law firm it is downright scurrilous. I’m thankful for the firms and attorneys showing fortitude in the face of war Trump is waging on the legal profession, on rule of law, and on the United States’ constitutional republic.