Ed. note: Welcome to our daily feature, Quote of the Day.
The landscape has definitely changed…We’ve always been somewhat risk averse, but the level of risk has changed. There’s more attention now to the matters that firms are taking on because the risk scenario has changed here, and that may be only temporary. We’re not at ‘hair on fire’ risk level anymore, but more on a ‘walking on eggshells’ kind of risk level…We’ve gotten some matters cleared that two months ago I would not have gotten cleared.
— An Am Law 50 pro bono leader, in comments given to the American Lawyer on background, concerning their law firm’s internal operations in the wake of the Trump administration’s overreach into the world of pro bono work. Nine firms that capitulated to Trump to escape actual executive orders or the mere threat of being subjected to an executive order pledged nearly $1 billion in pro bono payola to conservative causes.
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.