Jones Day: Helping Donald Trump To Make America Great Again
How would you feel about your law firm representing Donald Trump?
The law firm of Jones Day is notoriously tight-lipped. The sigil for House Jones Day might be a pair of pursed lips, over the motto “Secrecy breeds strength.”
There’s a certain irony, then, in this very discreet firm serving as campaign counsel to the most loudmouthed candidate of them all: Donald J. Trump, the billionaire real estate developer turned reality television star turned Republican presidential frontrunner. Although Trump’s in-house lawyer Alan Garten has earned most of the legal limelight so far (thanks to his great and not-so-great cease-and-desist letters), Jones Day is doing the real heavy lifting as Trump’s principal campaign counsel.
This afternoon, as reported by the Washington Post, the D.C. offices of Jones Day will be hosting a summit of sorts between Trump and two-dozen top Republicans. Back in November, Jones Day successfully defeated an effort to knock Trump off the New Hampshire primary ballot.
Happy Lawyers, Better Results The Key To Thriving In Tough Times
Given the many accusations leveled against Trump — that he’s a racist, sexist, xenophobic bully, whose campaign rallies sometimes end in violence — why hasn’t JD’s representation been more controversial? Trump is causing controversy in law schools; what explains Biglaw’s big yawn? As one source of ours wondered:
Jones Day is serving as Donald Trump’s official legal counsel. Why hasn’t there been an insurrection among Jones Day clients and associates?
[W]hen Paul Clement defended DOMA, he ended up leaving King & Spalding because of the outcry… this is just as bad, but there doesn’t seem to be any reaction. I am astonished.
Also, this is not the same as DOMA even, because Clement could at least say everyone deserves their day in court and lawyers have to assure justice…. Here, Jones Day is supporting Trump’s messaging, ads, rallies, and politicking with legal review!
The Jones Day team representing the Donald is led by another Donald — Donald F. McGahn, a leading election lawyer and controversial former chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). When Donald Trump delivered his New Hampshire victory speech, a grinning Don McGahn stood right next to Trump, closer to the candidate than Trump’s wife Melania or daughter Ivanka. Here’s a photo from that evening (showing that the two men share the same ruddy hue):
Jones Day’s Don McGahn: the wind beneath Trump’s wings?
Sponsored
AI Presents Both Opportunities And Risks For Lawyers. Are You Prepared?
Happy Lawyers, Better Results The Key To Thriving In Tough Times
Law Firm Business Development Is More Than Relationship Building
AI Presents Both Opportunities And Risks For Lawyers. Are You Prepared?
One can understand McGahn’s place of honor on the stage. If not for his and Jones Day’s efforts, Trump might not have made it onto the ballot.
And one can understand McGahn’s grin: his client is cleaning up in the GOP primary, and his firm is profiting handsomely. In 2015, according to FEC filings, the Trump campaign paid Jones Day almost $250,000 in legal fees — and the pace of spending has picked up since then. In January 2016 alone, Trump made two disbursements to Jones Day, totaling another $100,000. By the time the campaign is all over, one could easily imagine Jones Day earning seven figures from this engagement, especially if the messy Republican race spawns more litigation or if Trump ends up in the general election.
As we noted at the outset, a white-shoe law firm known for its discretion and a red-faced billionaire known for having none might be viewed as an odd couple. But if any Biglaw firm were to defend the Donald, one could see it being Jones Day. The firm and its client share some things in common. Like Donald Trump, infamous for Twitter takedowns and debate disses of his detractors, Jones Day can also be a bit thin-skinned and defensive. Like Donald Trump, who plays best among working-class whites hurt by globalization, the Cleveland-founded firm enjoys a dominant market position in the Rust Belt (which might explain why its representation of Trump hasn’t made waves among its lawyers and clients).
We reached out to Jones Day to see if they’d make Don McGahn or any other JD lawyer on the Trump team available for an interview. A firm spokesperson thanked us for our interest but said that its representation of Trump “is not something we can discuss.”
If you’re a Jones Day lawyer or client, what do you think of your law firm’s representation of Donald Trump? Please get in touch with us by email or by text message (646-820-8477). If we get enough information or if there are subsequent developments, we might do a follow-up — this story could be YUGE. Thanks.
Sponsored
How The New Lexis+ AI App Empowers Lawyers On The Go
Curbing Client And Talent Loss With Productivity Tech
UPDATE (1:16 p.m.): Here are some thoughts from one Jones Day attorney:
The firm’s (seemingly gleeful) representation of Donald Trump is cringeworthy and embarrassing. Many people in the firm are upset by it and concerned about the negative implications that representing a sexist, racist demagogue could have on our client base. It also sends a negative message to the firm’s female associates when JD takes the (albeit indirect) side of a man actively bullying Megyn Kelly, who worked at this firm for nine years.
And from a former JD lawyer who’s now gone in-house (i.e., a potential client):
I can sum up my opinion of this story briefly: WTF. This is so embarrassing.
UPDATE (4:35 p.m.): Comments from another lawyer still at Jones Day:
If you’re wondering why there hasn’t been more of an associate outcry, it has a lot to do with the fact that most of us are learning this for the first time reading it on your website. This place isn’t exactly a model of transparency.
The representation of Trump is shameful and embarrassing, but it’s not the first time a Biglaw firm has represented a paying client that many find to be morally reprehensible. It’s part of doing our jobs. And just so people know – Trump’s shtick is emphatically not representative of the worldview held by most of the people here. Many attorneys here have done hundreds of hours of pro bono work for the National Immigrant Justice Center, for example.
Fair enough. This information — that Jones Day hasn’t been making much of the Trump representation internally, and that many JD lawyers disagree with his views and do pro bono work on behalf of immigrants — is helpful and worth noting.
UPDATE (5:18 p.m.): From another mortified Jones Day attorney:
I can speak for all of the attorneys in at least one JD office when I say that we did not know about Trump until today, and considering that our business development plan consists largely of outreach to Latin American clients, we are embarrassed and upset for them and for ourselves. Long story short: Trump’s bigotry doesn’t speak for us all, and many (if not the majority) of us are ashamed to have learned this today.
UPDATE (3/24/2016, 5:51 p.m.): Check out our follow-up post, Will Jones Day Drop Donald Trump As A Client?
Trump to huddle with top Republicans in D.C. ahead of AIPAC speech [Washington Post]
Effort to Knock Donald Trump Off N.H. Ballot Fails [Washington Wire / Wall Street Journal]
Former FEC chairman Donald McGahn resigns from panel [Washington Post]
Earlier: Jones Day: Secrecy Breeds Strength?
Donald Trump’s Amazing Cease & Desist Letter
An Awesome Response To A Cease-And-Desist Letter From Donald Trump’s Lawyer
Law School Cancels Barrister’s Ball Because Of Donald Trump
Paul Clement Quits King & Spalding After K&S Moves to Drop DOMA Defense
Biglaw Firm Throws Even Bigger Hissy Fit
Jones Day Does Not Have A Sense Of Humor
