Fox Rothschild Partner Who Sat In on Trump's Call to Georgia Resigns From Firm

Fox Rothschild has acknowledged that Alex Kaufman was "present for" the Jan. 2 call between Trump and Georgia officials, but said the law firm has never represented Trump or his campaign.

By Lizzy McLellan | January 07, 2021 at 08:06 PM | The original version of this story was published on The Legal Intelligencer

A Fox Rothschild partner, who was on the call Jan. 2 in which President Donald Trump pressured Georgia officials to “find” votes that would reverse the results of the presidential election, is leaving the Philadelphia-based Am Law 100 law firm. ... In a statement Thursday evening, the firm said Alex Kaufman and his father, Robert J. Kaufman, who were both partners in Atlanta, “reached a mutual agreement with Fox Rothschild LLP today to depart from the firm and pursue new professional opportunities.”

The two Kaufmans joined the firm in December 2019, along with counsel Jordan Forman. The three came from a small firm Robert Kaufman founded, Kaufman & Forman, in Atlanta. ... Fox Rothschild has acknowledged that Alex Kaufman was “present for” the Jan. 2 call between Trump and Georgia officials. According to the law firm, “Neither Alex Kaufman nor Fox Rothschild represent or have ever represented the President or his campaign.” Kaufman did not speak on the Jan. 2 call.

In its statement, Fox Rothschild added, “As a national law firm, we are non-partisan, and we do not represent either President Trump or President-elect Biden.” ... Earlier on Thursday, Fox Rothschild said in a statement that Alex Kaufman, in his individual capacity, is the general counsel for the Fulton County Republican Party and an associate general counsel for the Georgia Republican Party.

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Similarly, Foley & Lardner partner Cleta Mitchell, who was also on the Jan. 2 call and spoke during the conversation, resigned from her firm Tuesday. On Monday, after news reports of her involvement in the call surfaced, the firm had said, “We are aware of, and are concerned by, Ms. Mitchell’s participation in the January 2 conference call and are working to understand her involvement more thoroughly.” ... Following the call, Foley faced public pressure over Mitchell’s involvement, led by the Lincoln Project calling on its nearly 3 million Twitter followers to chastise the firm. ... Alex Kaufman’s involvement in the call was first reported by Above the Law.