Fresh off shadow president Elon Musk’s chilling warning to Skadden Arps, the New York Times is reporting the #5 richest Biglaw firm is in the midst of negotiating a deal with the Trump administration.
The Times says Skadden is seeking to avoid one of the increasingly common Executive Orders targeting Biglaw, and the tremendous harm that can bring. While many firms are trying to lay low to avoid the attention of Trump, Skadden’s pro bono work against Dinesh D’Souza’s “2000 Mules” (a film and book that contains widely debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 election) has already garnered attention.
Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp has already kissed the ring of Donald Trump to get out from under an EO. The backlash to Paul Weiss’s deal with the Trump administration has been swift, with many questioning the firm’s ability to zealously advocate on behalf of their own clients — particularly if their clients find themselves targeted by Trump.
The precise terms of the discussions or what Skadden may ultimately agree to are unknown. But the mere existence of the talks is a major development and signals how little appetite there is in some corners of Biglaw to defend the rule of law.
The talks represent an extraordinary turn in Mr. Trump’s campaign against law firms and the legal system more broadly, marking what appears to be the first time that a major firm has tried to cut a deal with the president before he could issue an executive order. Recent orders targeting other law firms have restricted the work they can do with the federal government.
The Skadden discussions are also the latest example of how large law firms, afraid of a protracted battle with Mr. Trump, are eager to strike deals.
There are also reports of other Biglaw firms seeking similar preemptive deals amidst Trump crowing about his power over some of the largest law firms in the nation.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].