The head of a law firm accused of kowtowing to President Trump has accused the legal sector of failing to offer support in its time of need.

In an email to staff at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, chair Brad Karp said the firm had faced an ‘existential crisis’ following an executive order from Trump.

Karp’s response to the order was to negotiate a $40m offer of pro bono support for the government’s justice programme and to agree to drop diversity and inclusion policies. Trump announced on Friday that he would tear up the order following talks with the firm.

Karp’s email, widely circulated over the weekend, acknowledged that this had been an unsettling time for Paul, Weiss staff. Trump’s order, which threatened to restrict government security access and prevent the firm accessing federal contracts, ‘could easily have destroyed’ the business, he said. 

Karp continued: ‘We were hopeful that the legal industry would rally to our side, even though it had not done so in response to executive orders targeting other firms. We had tried to persuade other firms to come out in public support of Covington and Perkins Coie [the other firms subject to executive orders].

‘And we waited for firms to support us in the wake of the president’s executive order targeting Paul, Weiss. Disappointingly, far from support, we learned that certain other firms were seeking to exploit our vulnerabilities by aggressively soliciting our clients and recruiting our attorneys.’

Karp said the firm had initially prepared to challenge the executive order in court but it became clear this would not solve the fundamental problem of clients taking their business elsewhere.

The Paul, Weiss deal was widely criticised by members of the legal profession. Laurence Tribe, a former Harvard law professor, wrote on BlueSky it was ‘one of the saddest capitulations I have ever seen’, adding: ‘A law firm honored for its bravery has more than bent the knee and kissed the ring: it has paid the ransom demanded by Trump.’

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Meanwhile, Trump has if anything ramped up his approach to the legal profession, issuing a memorandum over the weekend entitled Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court.

He said that lawyers and law firms that engage in actions that violate US law ‘must be efficiently and effectively held accountable’, citing Marc Elias, a law firm chair and former attorney for presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as an example of grossly unethical misconduct.

Trump said: ‘Unfortunately, far too many attorneys and law firms have long ignored these requirements when litigating against the federal government or in pursuing baseless partisan attacks. To address these concerns, I hereby direct the attorney general to seek sanctions against attorneys and law firms who engage in frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States or in matters before executive departments and agencies of the United States.’

Where a lawyer is found to have brought unwarranted litigation against the state, there will be reassessment of their security clearances, termination of any contract for which they have been hired, or other unspecified 'appropriate actions'.

‘Law firms and individual attorneys have a great power, and obligation, to serve the rule of law, justice, and order,’ added Trump. ‘The attorney general, alongside the counsel to the president, shall report to the president periodically on improvements by firms to capture this hopeful vision.’

California law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters said the memo amounted to an ‘inexcusable and despicable’ attack on lawyers representing unpopular people and causes.

In a statement, the firm added: ‘Our profession owes every client zealous legal representation without fear of retribution, regardless of their political affiliation or ability to pay.’

 

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