TRENDING NEWS
Back to news
01 Apr, 2025
Share:
Law firms: Caving to White House pressure
@Source: theweek.com
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week View Profile The Explainer Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters From the Magazine The Week Junior Food & Drink Personal Finance All Categories Newsletter sign up Law firms: Caving to White House pressure Trump targets major law firms tied to his past investigations Newsletter sign up The legal system is the one “obstacle between Trump and dictatorship” (Image credit: Runstudio / Getty Images) The Week US 31 March 2025 Big Law has already begun surrendering, said William Kristol in The Bulwark. President Trump this month targeted three major Democratic-leaning law firms for, essentially, destruction. By executive order, he terminated all federal contracts with the firms and any federal contractors employing them, meaning they’d lose all their clients. This “extraordinary diktat” seems clearly unconstitutional, and when one firm—Perkins Coie, which had represented Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign—fought it in court, it won a restraining order. But another firm, Paul Weiss, “chose capitulation,” cravenly agreeing to provide $40 million in pro bono services to Trump causes to get the order lifted. Paul Weiss had been targeted because its lawyers had investigated Trump’s business dealings and sued alleged Jan. 6 rioters, and its head, Brad Karp, said it faced an “existential crisis.” Yet knuckling under to extortion is no way to make it stop. “I do recognize Karp’s plight,” said Eugene Robinson in The Washington Post. He has a fiduciary duty to his firm, and Trump’s order could have bankrupted it. Yet “Perkins Coie faced the same pressures and chose to fight,” which is not just principled but also pragmatic. Paul Weiss reduced itself to a puppet, existing at the mercy of a president who might renew his order on any pretext. Its meekness only emboldened Trump to strike again—this time targeting Jenner and Block, a firm that employed a lawyer who helped Robert Mueller investigate Trump’s Russia ties in 2017. Look, the Democrats really did engage in scandalous “lawfare abuses” during the past eight years, said Andrew C. McCarthy in National Review. But “Trump’s retribution is that he won the presidency” and got to fire the government officials who persecuted him. He doesn’t get to trample the Constitution to “destroy his enemies.” The legal system is the one “obstacle between Trump and dictatorship,” said Frank Bowman in Slate, and he’s dismantling it piece by piece. He’s already undermined judges by defying court orders. Intimidating private law firms is the next step, and we desperately need attorneys to resist. But when Paul Weiss looked to its peers to stand with it against Trump, Karp says rival firms instead tried to poach his lawyers and clients. The profession is at a fatal juncture, said Lauren Stiller Rikleen in The Boston Globe. Lawyers can either launch “a principled fight” to uphold the rule of law or let the U.S. become a “place where democracy is just another banned word.” Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Explore More Donald Trump The Week US Social Links Navigation Venezuelan deportees: Locked up for tattoos? A former pro soccer player was deported after U.S. authorities claimed his tattoo proved he belonged to a Venezuelan gang ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 Saving the post office The U.S. Postal Service is facing mounting losses and growing calls for privatization. Can it survive? ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 Rule of law: Are we in a constitutional crisis? Donald Trump defies federal court order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 You might also like Venezuelan deportees: Locked up for tattoos? A former pro soccer player was deported after U.S. authorities claimed his tattoo proved he belonged to a Venezuelan gang ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 Rule of law: Are we in a constitutional crisis? Donald Trump defies federal court order to halt deportation flights to El Salvador ByThe Week US Published 31 March 25 Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028 ByPeter Weber, The Week US Published 31 March 25 The JFK files: the truth at last? In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration ByThe Week Staff Published 29 March 25 Why does Donald Trump want Greenland? The Explainer Trump is not the only US president who has tried to gain control of Greenland ByThe Week UK Published 29 March 25 What dangers does the leaked Signal chat expose the US to? TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The White House's ballooning group chat scandal offered a masterclass in what not to say when prying eyes might be watching ByRafi Schwartz, The Week US Published 27 March 25 Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry. ByPeter Weber, The Week US Published 27 March 25 'Even authoritarian regimes need a measure of public support — the consent of at least some of the governed' instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day' ByAnya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published 26 March 25 View More ▸ Contact Future's experts Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Advertise With Us The Week is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street
For advertisement: 510-931-9107
Copyright © 2025 Usfijitimes. All Rights Reserved.