Biglaw is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.
Lawyers at two Biglaw firms Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie — have been called out by the Trump administration for retribution. But the scrutiny is likely to spread.
The admin has already admitted they’ll use the DEI cover to extract their pound of flesh. And over the weekend, Donald Trump was downright chilling in his frankness when talking with Maria Bartiromo explaining there are even more law firms on his enemies list because they “were very, very dishonest.”
Former Wachtell partner and noted Donald Trump hater George Conway took to his most recent episode of his podcast to chat about the situation facing Biglaw. And he does NOT hold back. He notes Trump is a “bully” seeking to “punish” Perkins Coie for their election work for the DNC (which coincidentally Marc Elias took away from the firm) and their involvement with the Steele Dossier. It’s a move Conway calls a “brazen abuse of government power and unconstitutional.”
Conway also calls out Sullivan & Cromwell taking up the Trump criminal case. Like a bunch of people at the firm itself, Conway is not impressed that S&C is repping Trump — and he has a personal connection to the matter, one of the lawyers on the case was the best man at Conway’s wedding (to former Trump lackey, Kellyanne Conway). George Conway says, “I’ve told him directly to his face that I think it’s a disgrace that he’s representing Donald Trump.” Conway clarified it was actually over text, but he continues saying, “it’s a disgrace and I’m ashamed for him that he is representing Donald Trump in the criminal appeal. And his defense is, ‘oh I’m just representing him on a criminal appeal.’ Like no, no, no. This man wants to destroy American democracy — look at what he’s done.”
For the record, Conway was not persuaded by the trope “everyone deserves a lawyer,” quipping, “Hitler was entitled to a lawyer too.”
And he’s just a little bit gobsmacked about the industry’s lack of reaction to the Trump administration putting the screws to big firms. Because they *should* be reacting to Trump’s efforts to undermine the very rule of law, something that’s historically been very profitable for Biglaw. But no — many firms are “obeying in advance” and it’s a really bad look for the supposed best in the legal field.
Conway opines as to why Biglaw firms aren’t collectively working together to fight what Trump is doing and protect the legal system as we know it, and he chalks a lot of it up to cowardice. Too many firms are keeping their heads down because they don’t want to catch the attention of Trump and wind up in the crosshairs. Conway compares them to Republican Senators that won’t stand up to Trump because they are “just a bunch of pussies.” Which… unfortunately checks out.
You can watch the episode below, it’s quite the takedown of Biglaw (even if Conway doesn’t say “Perkins Coie” the right way).
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].