[UPDATE: Paul Weiss has reached out to say this meeting is unrelated to the Executive Order settlement, but rather part of the 2025 Antitrust Spring Meeting. The firm says there was no “morale” aspect to the event.]
While Paul Weiss isn’t the only law firm scrambling to trade its credibility for Trump’s approval, it was the first to give the administration a big, splashy capitulation to crow about — a head on a pike to post outside the White House walls to exact even higher pro bono payola concessions. It’s possible that other firms would have still caved rather than join Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale in fighting back against the illegal, retaliatory executive orders the administration keeps pumping out… but all we know for sure is that no one surrendered until Paul Weiss set the bar and everyone who has since followed the broad outline set by Paul Weiss.
In the immediate aftermath, I wondered if there might be some hefty books of business within Paul Weiss who aren’t happy about all this. It looks like that might be the case, as an eagle-eyed tipster spotted this on Friday at the Conrad in D.C.
A Career In Legal Services: Practising Law Institute Honors Toby J. Rothschild
PLI honors Toby J. Rothschild with its inaugural Victor J. Rubino Award for Excellence in Pro Bono Training, recognizing his dedication and impact.
“Hello, my name is Bob, and I’m an unwillingly complicit party in the erosion of rule of law….”
Whoever set up the meeting probably didn’t want the hotel to provide such a detailed description — at least not on a clearly visible sign. No word yet on what went down inside. Did they light some candles and hug it out? Maybe a few trust falls and therapy puppies?
What’s the client timekeeping code for emotional support meetings? Probably 90000 “Professional Development,” matter 050 “Existential Dread.”
8 Tips For Creating A Comprehensive ‘AI In The Workplace’ Policy
Corporate investment and usage in generative AI technologies continues to accelerate. This article offers eight specific tips to consider when creating an AI usage policy.
But this does lend credence to the theory that the firm’s partnership might include more than a few lawyers who aren’t pleased about the firm’s name becoming a punchline:
If there’s a lowest circle of reputational hell for a white-shoe law firm, it’s being invoked — casually and without irony — by Jim Cramer as the example of corporate cowardice. The stock market is in the middle of a Great Depression-level crash and CNBC is still finding a way to work Paul Weiss into the story!
There’s losing a PR battle and then there’s whatever legacy-defining public relations chest wound this is for Paul Weiss.
[UPDATE: If it’s true that this wasn’t intended to have anything to do with the Executive Order, it underscores the unforced reputational error the firm’s settlement caused. Before we posted this story, the image also appeared on Reddit with over a thousand upvotes and a spirited round of dunking in the comments. Had this image appeared a year ago no one would’ve said anything, but the firm has now positioned itself — especially as folks leave settling firms in public and private ways — such that events like these are an optics nightmare.]
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.