Donald Trump said on Friday that five major law firms reached agreements to together provide his administration $600m in pro bono legal work, among other terms, to avoid executive orders punishing them, a significant capitulation to the president as he attacks the legal profession.
The five firms – Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft – are among the most prestigious and recognized firms in the US.
Trump’s announcement on Friday on Truth Social means he has secured a total of $940m in pro bono work from some of the most powerful law firms in the US.
The orders come as Trump’s attack on the legal profession has divided the most prestigious firms in the US. More than 500 firms signed an amicus brief last week in support of a legal challenge to executive orders punishing the firm Perkins Coie. But many of the country’s biggest firms – including those that reached agreements announced on Friday – were conspicuously absent.
Four of the firms – Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett– agreed to pledge $125m each in pro bono work to causes backed by the Trump administration. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft said it would dedicate $100m. Cadwalader is the former firm of Todd Blanche, who resigned his partnership there to represent Trump in criminal cases when the firm would not take on Trump as a client. Blanche is now the deputy attorney general – the number two official at the Department of Justice.
The firms said they would not consider race in hiring, Trump said in a post on Truth Social. The firms also agreed they “will not deny representation to clients, such as members of politically disenfranchised groups and Government Officials, employees, and advisors”.
As part of the agreement, Trump said the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) would withdraw a 17 March letter from its chair inquiring about practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion at the firms and that the administration would not pursue any action related to the inquiry. That inquiry from the EEOC was misleading and didn’t carry much legal weight, former EEOC officials wrote in their own 18 March letter, saying they had “grave concerns” about its legality.
The agreement on Friday comes after four other firms – Paul Weiss, Skadden, Milbank, and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher – reached similar settlements with the Trump administration. Those agreements have been widely criticized by observers as emboldening Trump in his effort to intimidate the legal profession.
Trump has separately punished several other firms with executive orders because of their connection to adversaries or involvement in causes against him. The orders threaten to cripple the firms by essentially making it impossible for them to do business with any client that has business before the government.
Three firms – Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale – have sued the Trump administration and successfully obtained preliminary court orders blocking the executive orders. Another firm targeted this week – Susman Godfrey – has indicated it plans to challenge the order.
