The firm, naturally, has a statement, and it is a piece of work.<\/p>\n
\u201cDLA Piper\u2019s clients rely on our lawyers to help them navigate many of the world\u2019s most complex legal matters,\u201d it reads. \u201cProviding exceptional legal counsel to clients that span the political spectrum is central to who we are as a global law firm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ah, the political spectrum. On one end, the client whose worse fomented an attack on the Capitol. On the other end, the firm\u2019s own 2021 letter demanding that same client be removed from office for those exact actions. Truly, DLA Piper contains multitudes.<\/p>\n
The academics were less charitable. Scott Cummings, a UCLA law professor, put the sharpest point on it. DLA Piper\u2019s turn toward Trump is \u201cat best deeply hypocritical,\u201d he said. \u201cAt worst, it suggests that these expressions of professional integrity in these critical moments may be not seriously grounded in commitments by the firms but rather a performance that\u2019s consumed by the public.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s striking that a firm that had been so critical of Trump with regard to Jan. 6 would represent him,\u201d Yale Law professor John Morley told Bloomberg, before getting to the part everyone is thinking. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously a close connection between the president\u2019s personal interests and political priorities. Firms that wish to gain sway with administration can potentially gain a lot from advising Trump personally.\u201d<\/p>\n
There it is \u2014 this isn\u2019t a firm rediscovering its commitment to zealous advocacy for the unpopular client. Trump is the most powerful man in the country, and personally handling his lawsuits is a very direct way of getting on his good side, a good side that has spent the last year and a half handing out and withholding favors<\/a> to Biglaw based on loyalty. The pro bono deals, the executive orders, the whole ecosystem of capitulation. Defending the man himself is just the premium tier.<\/p>\n Earlier:<\/strong> DLA Piper Partner Backs Trump Central Park 5 Defamation Case<\/a> Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post In 2021, DLA Piper Wanted Trump Removed Over The Capitol Riot. Today, It\u2019s On Trump\u2019s Jan. 6 Legal Team.<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n In the days after January 6, 2021, DLA Piper had something to say. The firm was the largest of 19 to sign onto a letter calling the assault on the Capitol \u201cthe direct and predictable result of a rally summoned by the president,\u201d and urging then-Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Donald Trump from office.<\/p>\n \u201cThe President has proven himself unfit for office, and a reckless and wanton threat to the Constitution that he pledged to preserve, protect, and defend,\u201d the firms wrote.<\/p>\n Strong words. Principled, even.<\/p>\n But that was then, and that principled view of the rule of law has given way to the pursuit of cold, hard cash.<\/p>\n Because today, as Bloomberg Law reports<\/a>, DLA Piper is defending Trump in the Jan. 6 cases \u2014 cases arising from the very attack the firm once described as a reckless and wanton threat to the Constitution. Partners Caryn Schechtman and Mike Walsh entered appearances last month as part of the Trump team fighting a lawsuit brought by Capitol police officers injured in the riot, along with a separate suit filed by members of Congress. Both cases allege Trump bears responsibility for his false election-rigging claims and agitating his supporters on the day of the attack\u2026 which is, more or less, exactly what DLA Piper itself said in 2021.<\/p>\n The firm, naturally, has a statement, and it is a piece of work.<\/p>\n \u201cDLA Piper\u2019s clients rely on our lawyers to help them navigate many of the world\u2019s most complex legal matters,\u201d it reads. \u201cProviding exceptional legal counsel to clients that span the political spectrum is central to who we are as a global law firm.\u201d<\/p>\n Ah, the political spectrum. On one end, the client whose worse fomented an attack on the Capitol. On the other end, the firm\u2019s own 2021 letter demanding that same client be removed from office for those exact actions. Truly, DLA Piper contains multitudes.<\/p>\n The academics were less charitable. Scott Cummings, a UCLA law professor, put the sharpest point on it. DLA Piper\u2019s turn toward Trump is \u201cat best deeply hypocritical,\u201d he said. \u201cAt worst, it suggests that these expressions of professional integrity in these critical moments may be not seriously grounded in commitments by the firms but rather a performance that\u2019s consumed by the public.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s striking that a firm that had been so critical of Trump with regard to Jan. 6 would represent him,\u201d Yale Law professor John Morley told Bloomberg, before getting to the part everyone is thinking. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously a close connection between the president\u2019s personal interests and political priorities. Firms that wish to gain sway with administration can potentially gain a lot from advising Trump personally.\u201d<\/p>\n There it is \u2014 this isn\u2019t a firm rediscovering its commitment to zealous advocacy for the unpopular client. Trump is the most powerful man in the country, and personally handling his lawsuits is a very direct way of getting on his good side, a good side that has spent the last year and a half handing out and withholding favors<\/a> to Biglaw based on loyalty. The pro bono deals, the executive orders, the whole ecosystem of capitulation. Defending the man himself is just the premium tier.<\/p>\n Earlier:<\/strong> DLA Piper Partner Backs Trump Central Park 5 Defamation Case<\/a> In the days after January 6, 2021, DLA Piper had something to say. The firm was the largest of 19 to sign onto a letter calling the assault on the Capitol \u201cthe direct and predictable result of a rally summoned by the president,\u201d and urging then-Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet to invoke the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":161506,"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-161518","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\/2026\/08\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-VC5BAh.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161518","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=161518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Capitol Police Officers Sue To Block Trump Slush Fund For Rioters<\/a><\/p>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/06\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568.jpg?resize=174%2C160&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2021\/01\/coup-attempt-3-GettyImages-1294949295-300x200.jpg?resize=300%2C200&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
Capitol Police Officers Sue To Block Trump Slush Fund For Rioters<\/a><\/p>\n
\nKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"