Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
I don’t know if I would do the same thing, but it is unfair to criticize their decisions. It was well within the bounds of a reasonable solution. When you have a potential death alternative, how do you criticize someone for choosing to live, even if it is painful?
— An Am Law 200 chair, in anonymous comments given to Law.com, on the Biglaw firms that made deals with Donald Trump to head off or make his likely unconstitutional executive orders go away. Thus far, Paul Weiss, Skadden, Willkie, and Milbank have made deals with the Trump to get out from under or avoid his harmful executive orders (with Kirkland reportedly in talks to strike a deal), while Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale have filed suit to defend their firms and the rule of law. The chair went on to say that he wouldn’t criticize the three firms that chose to litigate against the Trump administration, noting, “These things are complicated, and you have to deal with your own internal workforce.”
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.