CNN
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The fear and loathing among lawyers in Washington, DC, has never been greater.
After a series of White House executive orders threatening their business and hiring practices, several powerful Washington law firms face a defining choice: push back publicly in defense of their industry or quietly hope to avoid President Donald Trump’s wrath.
Many firms are afraid that if they are targeted by Trump, it could devastate their business if both clients and partners flee, reconfiguring the centers of power in Washington’s most influential private industry.
“We could see a shakeup like we’ve never seen before,” Ivan Adler, a headhunter for lobbyists who regularly works with Washington’s law firms. “This is the talk of the town. Firms are just waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Interviews with nearly a dozen lawyers and legal industry professionals shed light on the quiet fear gripping many law firms with decades of history doing business in Washington.
A number of major firms are strategizing behind the scenes on how to react without attracting attention in wider political conversations, according to several people in Washington’s legal community. Firm leaders, sources tell CNN, want to quell fears among their lawyers, especially younger associates who may be more likely to want the firms to take a stand politically against Trump.
So far, Trump’s executive orders have targeted four large law firms – Perkins Coie; Jenner & Block; Covington & Burling; and Paul, Weiss, Wharton, Rifkin & Garrison. Among other things, lawyers at those firms have had their national security clearances suspended – a core piece of some legal defense work.
Several lawyers who spoke to CNN expressed disappointment with the general lack of response from the legal industry and in Paul Weiss’ situation, the capitulation to Trump’s targeting with the firm leader’s choice to cut a deal.
Trump suggested Wednesday that universities and law firms are “bending” to his administration’s will as he’s targeted top legal firms that have represented his perceived political enemies.
“You see what we’re doing with the colleges, and they’re all bending and saying, ‘Sir, thank you very much. We appreciate it,’” Trump said at a White House event marking Women’s History Month. “Nobody can believe it, including law firms that have been so horrible, law firms that, nobody would believe this, just saying, ‘Where do I sign? Where do I sign?’ … And there’s more coming, but we really are in the ‘Golden age of America.’”
Rather than fight an executive order, the New York dealmaking powerhouse law firm Paul Weiss agreed to provide $40 million in legal work to causes backed by the White House, including veterans’ assistance and countering antisemitism, according to an email chairman Brad Karp sent firmwide on Sunday that was obtained by CNN.
Several lawyers in Washington privately griped about Karp backing down from a fight against Trump. Several dozen alumni of Paul Weiss this week also published an open letter “to protest the firm’s recent decision to surrender to the Trump administration,” the letter said.
But some legal industry insiders weren’t surprised nor were they outraged by Paul Weiss’ move.
It’s not unusual for lawyers to “look at all of your options,” Cari Brunelle, a legal industry consultant, told CNN. “Sometimes you choose to litigate, and sometimes you choose to settle. It’s what you do for your clients every day.”
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For instance, an amicus brief being drafted in support of Perkins Coie has gotten few signatures from leaders at other firms, several people familiar with it say.
The White House is drafting more executive orders that would target more firms, according to two people familiar with what is in the works.
At the same time, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sent letters to another handful of law firms announcing a “review” of their diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Retaliation for DEI initiatives has been part of the White House executive orders against law firms, making those firms contacted by the EEOC especially concerned.
If law firms don’t stand together, the president would be able to “wipe out any potential legal opposition,” Elliot Peters of the West Coast-centric litigation firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters.
Peters said he believed Trump’s actions so far add to a reality where Congress no longer pushes back against the president, and as Trump also tries to silence the press.
“We’re well on our road to an authoritarian government here,” he said.
Keker has been one of the few major US law firms willing to make a public statement criticizing the executive orders against law firms.
Though a number of firms are potentially at risk, the situation is particularly dire for Perkins Coie, according to a number of people familiar with the matter, who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity.
The White House announced it was blacklisting a number of its lawyers from federal buildings and potentially punishing its clients if they contract with the government, sending an immediate chill across the firm’s everyday operations, sources said and according to a court case the firm has brought against the administration.
Agencies have pulled back from working with the law firm, and one recent meeting was canceled for the firm at the Justice Department related to an ongoing client matter, sources and the firm’s lawyer have said.
Dane Butswinkas, an attorney representing Perkins Coie in its challenge to the executive order, told a judge recently that the White House’s approach would “spell the end of the law firm.”
District Judge Beryl Howell this month ordered the administration to stop many of the ways agencies could restrict Perkins Coie lawyers, deeming much of that executive order unconstitutional.
The American Bar Association along with dozens of other voluntary lawyer groups across the country have pushed back against the reticence across the profession to speak out.
“We will not stay silent in the face of efforts to remake the legal profession into something that rewards those who agree with the government and punishes those who do not,” a statement on Wednesday said. “We call upon the entire profession, including lawyers in private practice from Main Street to Wall Street, as well as those in corporations and who serve in elected positions, to speak out against intimidation.”
Even so, the White House continued its campaign against law firms on Tuesday, announcing more restrictions.
Jenner & Block was targeted with another executive order partly because one of its former well-known partners, Andrew Weissmann, had been a top prosecutor on the Russia investigation around Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to the White House. Jenner & Block is also working on several lawsuits challenging Trump’s policies.
A Jenner & Block spokesman, in a statement, acknowledged the firm had been named in Tuesday’s executive order but didn’t indicate how the firm would respond.
“We remain focused on serving and safeguarding our clients’ interests with the dedication, integrity, and expertise that has defined our firm for more than one hundred years and will pursue all appropriate remedies,” the statement said.
CNN’s Kit Maher and Evan Perez contributed to this report.
