Law firms like Paul Weiss that bent to the Trump administration’s demands are finding that big-name clients prefer to take their business elsewhere, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
McDonald’s and Oracle are among the growing list of clients choosing to part ways with the appeasing firms. General counsels have concerns about whether these law firms could be trusted to fight it out for them in the courtroom and in negotiations, the Journal reported, when they so easily bent to Trump’s demands.
In a recent luncheon, a top lawyer for Citadel told leaders of some of the country’s biggest law firms that the hedge-fund company prefers to work with law firms that aren’t afraid of a fight.
In his first days in office, President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders that targeted high-profile law firms. The orders punished some firms for their previous clients, claiming they weaponized the justice system and threatening to strip them of security clearances and government contracts.
Some firms capitulated, while others — like Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Susman Godfrey — chose to sue the administration. In the months since, many of these executive orders have been struck down or ruled unconstitutional.
As the Journal reported, clients are now skeptical that the firms that folded to Trump can aggressively defend their interests. The general counsel of a manufacturer of medical supplies explained that firms without “a hard line towards the Trump administration don’t have any line at all.
Firms that cut deals with the administration have also faced resignations from young attorneys and partners alike.
At the same time, the law firms that chose to sue the administration rather than fold have experienced difficulties too, the Journal noted, with some claiming in recent court filings that they’ve heard from anxious clients and lost business because of the orders.
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