Law firms represent their clients. Under normal circumstances, there’s a general understanding that this is nothing personal. It’s literally just business. But these aren’t normal circumstances. We’re in the middle of a Trump-flavored cult of personality witch hunt and the prospect of defending someone — even professionally — that would dare to go against the will of the King of these United States is grounds for attack.
And while today’s notice is less a letter stamped with a wax crest and more of a tweet from a loon, the cascading consequences can cost millions. Shortly after Elon Musk put out a tweet wagging his finger at Skadden, the Biglaw firm showed its belly to the tune of $100M in the hope to get back on Trump’s good side.
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Laura Loomer channeled her inner Musk and is trying to get Davis Wright Tremaine on Trump’s shitlist:
The “Maher hired an anti-Trump law firm!” point needs addressing. The first thing to clear up is that that isn’t some small pool of firms. Most firms are invested in the maintenance of the rule of law and an adversarial legal system. That’s why over 500 law firms signed on in support of Perkins Coie. The top of Biglaw wasn’t heavily represented in the list, but one of the few that did stand on business was, you guessed it, Davis Wright Tremaine. Since then, they’ve doubled down on their principles. While many Biglaw firms are taking the Target approach, DWT is going full Costco. They recently promoted Yusuf Zakir from being their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer to being their Chief Talent and Inclusion officer. That is a bold move at a time when other law firms are scrubbing any mention of diversity from their websites for fear that Trump or Blum & Co. could hit them in their pockets. Skadden is one thing, but if you’re sussing for a firm that Trump can easily add to his capitulation war chest, DWT is the wrong tree to bark up.
Earlier: Is Skadden About To Feel The Wrath Of The Trump Administration?
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Skadden Makes $100 Million ‘Settlement’ With Trump in Pro Bono Payola
Biglaw Firm Quietly Begins Purging Diversity Language From Website
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Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who is learning to swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.