{"id":132613,"date":"2025-09-04T15:35:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T23:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/09\/04\/guy-who-helped-orchestrate-some-of-biglaws-pro-bono-payola-deals-offers-tone-deaf-defense-of-them\/"},"modified":"2025-09-04T15:35:33","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T23:35:33","slug":"guy-who-helped-orchestrate-some-of-biglaws-pro-bono-payola-deals-offers-tone-deaf-defense-of-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/09\/04\/guy-who-helped-orchestrate-some-of-biglaws-pro-bono-payola-deals-offers-tone-deaf-defense-of-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Guy Who Helped Orchestrate Some of Biglaw\u2019s Pro Bono Payola Deals Offers Tone Deaf Defense Of Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

For lawyers, the Trump II era has been defined by the existential crisis facing the profession. Donald Trump has gone to\u00a0war with the rule of law<\/a>\u00a0and Biglaw through a series of\u00a0unconstitutional\u00a0<\/a>Executive Orders (or the\u00a0mere threat<\/a>\u00a0of them)\u00a0designed to break major law firms<\/a>\u00a0and have them bend a knee to Trump or extract a tremendous financial penalty. In the\u00a0face of this financial harm,\u00a0<\/a>nine major law firms were\u00a0willing to proactively seek out<\/a>\u00a0Trump\u2019s seal of approval and provide pro bono payola, that is, free legal services on behalf of\u00a0conservative clients or causes<\/a>\u00a0in order to avoid Trumpian retribution.<\/p>\n

The cowardice of the Biglaw firms kissing Trump\u2019s ring has been a major taking point with far-reaching consequences <\/a>for the profession. But few have been willing to offer a full-throated defense of the deals. Until now.<\/p>\n

Lobbying firm Ballard Partners, a firm with deep MAGA connections, has seen a spike in business<\/a> as folks try to navigate the ever-changing currents emanating from the White House \u2014 including two major Biglaw firms<\/a>\u2026 that happen to be among those that inked deals with Trump. And Brian Ballard spoke with <\/a>Bloomberg Law to defend the deals with Trump.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf you are in the business in Washington, DC, of working for clients that have issues before the government, it\u2019s better to be someone who can work with the government than someone who just says screw you,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cI think it\u2019s pretty smart for those guys to have done what they\u2019ve done\u2014the guys we represented and others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I termed the Biglaw deals pro bono payola<\/a> because that\u2019s what they are \u2014 paying (through pro bono services) to play. And while that may may grease the wheels for a subset of a Biglaw firm\u2019s clients (and accentuate the difference between corporate and litigation <\/a>clients), there are plenty of clients that see this as a problem. If a firm can\u2019t \u2014 or won\u2019t \u2014 defend themselves against an administration willing to use unconstitutional executive orders to extort free legal services, then how will that firm represent a company who finds themselves on the wrong side of the fickle president? This is also a reputational hit <\/a>for the firms that signed the deals, and clients *are* steering work away <\/a>from the firms that bent a knee to Trump.<\/p>\n

But there are other problems for yellow-bellied firms. There are congressional investigations<\/a>. And a real <\/a>recruitment problem<\/a>, as attorneys<\/a>\u00a0are\u00a0leaving<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0firms that caved<\/a>\u00a0to Trump, hoping<\/a> to get the stink<\/a> of capitulation\u00a0off their resumes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, there\u2019s the whole \u201cfail[ing] the American people<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and abandoning<\/a> the rule of law<\/a> thing. It bears repeating that the EOs Trump weaponized has been found unconstitutional. Repeatedly. Trump is trying to punish law firms for taking work and clients he personally doesn\u2019t like, and four different district court judges from\u00a0across the political spectrum<\/a>\u00a0have all ruled the orders unconstitutional on a variety of grounds \u2014 and that callous disregard for the foundations of our legal system corrodes those rights, particularly for the profession charged with safeguarding the law. <\/p>\n

So color me unimpressed that the man who has directly benefitted from negotiating the deals is downplaying the harm they do to the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt always makes sense to try to resolve things,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cThis administration wants to resolve things. They\u2019re looking to address the issues that they\u2019ve raised, but they\u2019re not looking for battles. They\u2019re looking for more friends than enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sure, Jan.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But even more galling is how Ballard denigrates the firms that have stood up to fight the EOs aimed at them:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSome of these law firms like the idea of having an enemy,\u201d Ballard said of the firms that chose to fight Trump. \u201cEither for business reasons or political reasons, that\u2019s why they do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In standing up to Trump, Perkins Coie<\/a>,\u00a0Jenner & Block<\/a>,\u00a0WilmerHale<\/a>, and\u00a0Susman Godfrey<\/a> are carrying the baton for the legal profession. Most lawyers agree with the stance these firms have taken \u2014 90% of respondents<\/a> in a recent Above the Law survey said other firms should follow their lead. Perkins, Jenner, Wilmer, and Susman have an \u201cenemy\u201d in the president not for the cynical reasons Ballard outlines, but because they\u2019re defending the constitution.<\/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 @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Guy Who Helped Orchestrate Some of Biglaw\u2019s Pro Bono Payola Deals Offers Tone Deaf Defense Of Them<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For lawyers, the Trump II era has been defined by the existential crisis facing the profession. Donald Trump has gone to\u00a0war with the rule of law<\/a>\u00a0and Biglaw through a series of\u00a0unconstitutional\u00a0<\/a>Executive Orders (or the\u00a0mere threat<\/a>\u00a0of them)\u00a0designed to break major law firms<\/a>\u00a0and have them bend a knee to Trump or extract a tremendous financial penalty. In the\u00a0face of this financial harm,\u00a0<\/a>nine major law firms were\u00a0willing to proactively seek out<\/a>\u00a0Trump\u2019s seal of approval and provide pro bono payola, that is, free legal services on behalf of\u00a0conservative clients or causes<\/a>\u00a0in order to avoid Trumpian retribution.<\/p>\n

The cowardice of the Biglaw firms kissing Trump\u2019s ring has been a major taking point with far-reaching consequences <\/a>for the profession. But few have been willing to offer a full-throated defense of the deals. Until now.<\/p>\n

Lobbying firm Ballard Partners, a firm with deep MAGA connections, has seen a spike in business<\/a> as folks try to navigate the ever-changing currents emanating from the White House \u2014 including two major Biglaw firms<\/a>\u2026 that happen to be among those that inked deals with Trump. And Brian Ballard spoke with <\/a>Bloomberg Law to defend the deals with Trump.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIf you are in the business in Washington, DC, of working for clients that have issues before the government, it\u2019s better to be someone who can work with the government than someone who just says screw you,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cI think it\u2019s pretty smart for those guys to have done what they\u2019ve done\u2014the guys we represented and others.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I termed the Biglaw deals pro bono payola<\/a> because that\u2019s what they are \u2014 paying (through pro bono services) to play. And while that may may grease the wheels for a subset of a Biglaw firm\u2019s clients (and accentuate the difference between corporate and litigation <\/a>clients), there are plenty of clients that see this as a problem. If a firm can\u2019t \u2014 or won\u2019t \u2014 defend themselves against an administration willing to use unconstitutional executive orders to extort free legal services, then how will that firm represent a company who finds themselves on the wrong side of the fickle president? This is also a reputational hit <\/a>for the firms that signed the deals, and clients *are* steering work away <\/a>from the firms that bent a knee to Trump.<\/p>\n

But there are other problems for yellow-bellied firms. There are congressional investigations<\/a>. And a real <\/a>recruitment problem<\/a>, as attorneys<\/a>\u00a0are\u00a0leaving<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0firms that caved<\/a>\u00a0to Trump, hoping<\/a> to get the stink<\/a> of capitulation\u00a0off their resumes<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, there\u2019s the whole \u201cfail[ing] the American people<\/a>\u201d\u00a0and abandoning<\/a> the rule of law<\/a> thing. It bears repeating that the EOs Trump weaponized has been found unconstitutional. Repeatedly. Trump is trying to punish law firms for taking work and clients he personally doesn\u2019t like, and four different district court judges from\u00a0across the political spectrum<\/a>\u00a0have all ruled the orders unconstitutional on a variety of grounds \u2014 and that callous disregard for the foundations of our legal system corrodes those rights, particularly for the profession charged with safeguarding the law. <\/p>\n

So color me unimpressed that the man who has directly benefitted from negotiating the deals is downplaying the harm they do to the rule of law.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt always makes sense to try to resolve things,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cThis administration wants to resolve things. They\u2019re looking to address the issues that they\u2019ve raised, but they\u2019re not looking for battles. They\u2019re looking for more friends than enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sure, Jan.<\/p>\n

\"\"
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But even more galling is how Ballard denigrates the firms that have stood up to fight the EOs aimed at them:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSome of these law firms like the idea of having an enemy,\u201d Ballard said of the firms that chose to fight Trump. \u201cEither for business reasons or political reasons, that\u2019s why they do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In standing up to Trump, Perkins Coie<\/a>,\u00a0Jenner & Block<\/a>,\u00a0WilmerHale<\/a>, and\u00a0Susman Godfrey<\/a> are carrying the baton for the legal profession. Most lawyers agree with the stance these firms have taken \u2014 90% of respondents<\/a> in a recent Above the Law survey said other firms should follow their lead. Perkins, Jenner, Wilmer, and Susman have an \u201cenemy\u201d in the president not for the cynical reasons Ballard outlines, but because they\u2019re defending the constitution.<\/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 @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Guy Who Helped Orchestrate Some of Biglaw\u2019s Pro Bono Payola Deals Offers Tone Deaf Defense Of Them<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For lawyers, the Trump II era has been defined by the existential crisis facing the profession. Donald Trump has gone to\u00a0war with the rule of law\u00a0and Biglaw through a series of\u00a0unconstitutional\u00a0Executive Orders (or the\u00a0mere threat\u00a0of them)\u00a0designed to break major law firms\u00a0and have them bend a knee to Trump or extract a tremendous financial penalty. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":132614,"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-132613","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\/09\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-nzEwG5.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132613","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=132613"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132613\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}