Awaking from our long Winter’s nap with HL 196 (3/31/2025) we commented at length about “what not to do” in opposition to Trump – citing as prime exemplars, Chuck Schumer, Columbia University and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, the law firm easily confused with a jelly-filled confection of the same name.  That post only briefly addressed what moderates and liberals should do. Progressives have already decided that advancing the 2028 candidacy of AOC is a winning formula, thus assuring another MAGA term in the Whitehouse.

AOC

For lawyers and law firms the “what to dos” are straight forward though not easy. We will describe them and, channeling Patrick Henry, reiterate that the opposite of what Paul Weiss, Skadden Arps, Wilkie Farr, and Milbank did is called for. They caved to Trump’s clearly unconstitutional and easy to nullify executive order, limiting their and clients’ access to federal facilities and business. The virtual certainty of winning in court is being demonstrated by Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, who each quickly and easily obtained restraining orders and have downhill paths to the finish line. If that is SCOTUS, expect Trump to be bitch slapped by at least a score of 7-2 and more likely 8-Thomas or 9-zip.

Brad Karp

The eight Trump-targeted law firms (including Covington & Burling) are just round one in Trump’s assault on the profession and the rule of law. For the rest, comprising the vast majority of the bar, already grievously, though not yet permanently, damaged, the imperative is clear and their action plans should include:

1. Welcoming to their firms people who, in disillusion and disgust, leave the above three cowardly and collaborating law firms;

2. Welcome and even poach clients who don’t want representation from those firms anymore;

3. Name names, by outing the clients and partners who destroyed these once great law firms. No longer great and never again the firms they once were, especially Paul Weiss. Regardless their “profits per P” those partners will never more be at peace when looking at themselves in the mirror during morning ablutions;

4. Support Perkins Coie, Jenner and WilmerHale, the firms fighting Trump – as more than 500 firms did last week by signing on to an amicus brief authored by Munger Tolles;

5. Open your arms and offices to the tens of thousands of professionals leaving the Department of Justice and myriad other federal agencies;

6. Assign lawyers in your firms the role of coordinating these resistance policies and activities.

Virtually all law firms do pro bono work and many have lawyers assigned the role of coordinating those efforts. This war on the profession deserves no less, and perhaps more, because it appears to be a battle to the death – of either the legal profession and rule of law or the warped and unconstitutional campaign that intends to destroy them.