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In It to Win It

(12,346 posts)
Fri Mar 21, 2025, 04:25 PM Mar 2025

Trump drops order against law firm after it pledges $40 million in legal services

President Donald Trump agreed to withdraw an executive order targeting law firm Paul Weiss' contracts and employee security clearances in exchange for a series of commitments from the firm, including dedicating $40 million of free legal services to "mutually agreed projects," Trump announced.

The March 14 executive order commanded agency heads to suspend security clearances for the firm's lawyers and threatened to snatch away government contracts for firm clients.

Paul Weiss is the third law firm targeted by Trump since late February. The pattern has sparked concerns among free speech advocates and legal observers about the independence of law firms under the new administration.

For some, Paul Weiss' agreement, announced late Thursday in a Trump post on Truth Social, heightened those concerns.

"This Paul Weiss capitulation is the most disgraceful action by a major law firm in my lifetime, so appalling that I couldn’t believe it at first," posted lawyer George Conway, a prominent Republican-turned-Independent Trump critic, on X.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-drops-order-against-law-165122367.html
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Trump drops order against law firm after it pledges $40 million in legal services (Original Post) In It to Win It Mar 2025 OP
He will get a few to capitulate. louis-t Mar 2025 #1
Extorsion creon Mar 2025 #2
At least we now know the going extortion fee. Irish_Dem Mar 2025 #3
I'm less concerned about pro bono legal services (which most law firms do anyway), Ms. Toad Mar 2025 #4
40 hrs work should equal 40 million. Historic NY Mar 2025 #5
Payola C_U_L8R Mar 2025 #6
Making this former powerhouse firm unavailable to dems? mahina Mar 2025 #7
Paul Weiss Grovels To Trump, Gets Out From Under Executive Order LetMyPeopleVote Mar 2025 #8
Isn't this called Organised Crime? rickyhall Mar 2025 #9
So the mob heist worked again and in plain sight UTUSN Mar 2025 #10

Ms. Toad

(38,313 posts)
4. I'm less concerned about pro bono legal services (which most law firms do anyway),
Fri Mar 21, 2025, 04:38 PM
Mar 2025

than I am about (1) agreeing to an outside (likely biased) investigation of hiring practices and (2) its admission of wrongdoing (which no one seems to be reporting on in any substantial manner).

The White House said that Mr. Karp had acknowledged “wrongdoing” by one of the firm’s former partners, Mark F. Pomerantz. Mr. Pomerantz had tried to build a criminal case against Mr. Trump several years ago while working at the Manhattan district attorney’s office. It was not clear what wrongdoing Mr. Trump was referring to.


https://archive.li/VOzqQ#selection-945.0-945.326

Pomerantz denied any wrongdoing, but nothing in the NYT article suggests Karp disagreed with the White House Statement asserting that Karp admitted wrongdoing.

LetMyPeopleVote

(175,080 posts)
8. Paul Weiss Grovels To Trump, Gets Out From Under Executive Order
Fri Mar 21, 2025, 06:39 PM
Mar 2025

I am disappointed in Paul Weiss



https://abovethelaw.com/2025/03/paul-weiss-grovels-to-trump-gets-out-from-under-executive-order/

Well ain’t this some shit. Faced with an Executive Order — described by the right as designed to bankrupt the firm — Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp kissed the ring of Donald Trump.

As noted by Anna Bower of Lawfare, Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that Karp “acknowledged the wrongdoing” of former partner Mark Pomeratz as part of his offering. For the record, the “wrongdoing” was joining Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in the successful prosecution of Donald Trump.

Karp also agreed to eliminate all DEI programs at the firm within 14 days, provide $40 million in pro bono services to Trump initiatives, and to abandon partisan decision making in its representations (whatever that means).

https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:t4x2ruk2qmob2b2cx55h4v7r/post/3lktrepo5tk2l



This is all taken from Trump’s post so the usual grains of salt might apply, but this is one of Trump’s “not-ALL-CAPS” posts, which usually mean they’ve been vetted and written by someone else.

As a result of this servile positioning, Trump rescinded the executive order targeting the firm.

This bodes absolutely terribly for the industry. It’s an admission from one of the biggest and most powerful law firms in the nation that fighting a likely unconstitutional Executive Order in court just isn’t worth it. The harm that the Trump administration can bring is too great, and the court system is unable to counter the blatant lawlessness the far right is engaged in.
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