{"id":114113,"date":"2025-04-08T14:58:23","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T22:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/04\/08\/biglaws-craven-capitulation-to-trump-now-under-congressional-scrutiny\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T14:58:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T22:58:23","slug":"biglaws-craven-capitulation-to-trump-now-under-congressional-scrutiny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/04\/08\/biglaws-craven-capitulation-to-trump-now-under-congressional-scrutiny\/","title":{"rendered":"Biglaw\u2019s Craven Capitulation To Trump Now Under Congressional Scrutiny"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
(Photo by Jabin Botsford \/The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a growing list of Biglaw firms<\/a> willing to sell out the rule of law in order save their own skin. And those firms will have some \u2018spaining to do.<\/p>\n

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent letters<\/a> to\u00a0Paul Weiss, Skadden, Milbank, Kirkland & Ellis, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Willkie Farr\u00a0asking some pointed questions about the deals struck to get our from under \u2014 or avoid entirely \u2014 Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0likely unconstitutional<\/a>\u00a0Executive Orders targeting Biglaw firms.<\/p>\n

As the letters read, \u201cIf every law firm targeted by the President were to accede to his unlawful demands, the resulting threat to Americans\u2019 constitutional protections would erode our democratic values and cherished civil liberties, as well as cost the legal profession dearly and for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of interest is S&C\u2019s inclusion on this list. That firm has not struck a deal with the administration, but firm co-chair Robert Giuffra\u00a0was reportedly involved with brokering the deal between Paul Weiss and Trump. And that strikes Blumenthal and Raskin as particularly unsavory, \u201cMr. Giuffra\u2019s role in this patently unlawful government action undertaken against a competitor is especially concerning given that Mr. Giuffra also serves as personal counsel to President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

As reported by<\/a> Law.com, the letter to Kirkland and S&C also ask some tough questions about whether they sought to lure talent and\/or clients from Paul Weiss when that firm was targeted<\/a> by Trump:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYour firm\u2019s reported conduct\u2014seeking to profit from President Trump\u2019s unconstitutional attacks on the rule of law by trying to lure away Paul, Weiss lawyers, apparently prioritizing short-term profits over principle and professional obligation\u2014would, if true, represent a failure to stand in defense of the rule of law,\u201d the letter to Kirkland reads.<\/p>\n

Letters to both Kirkland and Sullivan specifically ask who at the firm contacted attorneys at Paul Weiss in the aftermath of the executive order targeting the firm, as well as if any recruitment efforts were coordinated among the firm\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Both S&C and Kirkland have forcefully denied the allegation they tried to poach attorney or clients from Paul Weiss in the wake of that EO.<\/p>\n

The letter seeks details about the deals that have been announced by the firms, including the terms of the deals and their interactions with other firms regarding the deals.<\/p>\n

You can follow Biglaw\u2019s response to Trump\u2019s EOs below.<\/p>\n

\n
\n

Biglaw Is Under Attack. Here\u2019s What The Firms Are Doing About It.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Biglaw\u2019s Craven Capitulation To Trump Now Under Congressional Scrutiny<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
(Photo by Jabin Botsford \/The Washington Post via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There\u2019s a growing list of Biglaw firms<\/a> willing to sell out the rule of law in order save their own skin. And those firms will have some \u2018spaining to do.<\/p>\n

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent letters<\/a> to\u00a0Paul Weiss, Skadden, Milbank, Kirkland & Ellis, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Willkie Farr\u00a0asking some pointed questions about the deals struck to get our from under \u2014 or avoid entirely \u2014 Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0likely unconstitutional<\/a>\u00a0Executive Orders targeting Biglaw firms.<\/p>\n

As the letters read, \u201cIf every law firm targeted by the President were to accede to his unlawful demands, the resulting threat to Americans\u2019 constitutional protections would erode our democratic values and cherished civil liberties, as well as cost the legal profession dearly and for many years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of interest is S&C\u2019s inclusion on this list. That firm has not struck a deal with the administration, but firm co-chair Robert Giuffra\u00a0was reportedly involved with brokering the deal between Paul Weiss and Trump. And that strikes Blumenthal and Raskin as particularly unsavory, \u201cMr. Giuffra\u2019s role in this patently unlawful government action undertaken against a competitor is especially concerning given that Mr. Giuffra also serves as personal counsel to President Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

As reported by<\/a> Law.com, the letter to Kirkland and S&C also ask some tough questions about whether they sought to lure talent and\/or clients from Paul Weiss when that firm was targeted<\/a> by Trump:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cYour firm\u2019s reported conduct\u2014seeking to profit from President Trump\u2019s unconstitutional attacks on the rule of law by trying to lure away Paul, Weiss lawyers, apparently prioritizing short-term profits over principle and professional obligation\u2014would, if true, represent a failure to stand in defense of the rule of law,\u201d the letter to Kirkland reads.<\/p>\n

Letters to both Kirkland and Sullivan specifically ask who at the firm contacted attorneys at Paul Weiss in the aftermath of the executive order targeting the firm, as well as if any recruitment efforts were coordinated among the firm\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Both S&C and Kirkland have forcefully denied the allegation they tried to poach attorney or clients from Paul Weiss in the wake of that EO.<\/p>\n

The letter seeks details about the deals that have been announced by the firms, including the terms of the deals and their interactions with other firms regarding the deals.<\/p>\n

You can follow Biglaw\u2019s response to Trump\u2019s EOs below.<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her<\/a> with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Mastodon @[email\u00a0protected].<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Photo by Jabin Botsford \/The Washington Post via Getty Images) There\u2019s a growing list of Biglaw firms willing to sell out the rule of law in order save their own skin. And those firms will have some \u2018spaining to do. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Rep. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-114113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-9rz0k4.jpeg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114113\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}