Legal community shaken by a powerful law firm's decision to give in to Trump's demands [View all]

Source: NBC News

March 21, 2025, 8:32 PM EDT


WASHINGTON — On Thursday, the powerful law firm Paul Weiss caved. It agreed to give Donald Trump’s administration $40 million in free legal work for causes the president supports and, according to a social media post from Trump, get rid of any internal diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In response, Trump rescinded his executive order that targeted the firm and could have cost it significant business.

The agreement shocked many in the legal community, and for Rachel Cohen, an associate at another large firm — Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP — it was the final straw. On Thursday night, Cohen fired off an email to her firm that said she was giving her two-weeks’ notice, unless leaders there agreed to a number of conditions that would, in effect, stand up to the Trump administration — including by refusing to cooperate with the targeting of DEI programs.

“This is not what I saw for my career or for my evening, but Paul Weiss’ decision to cave to the Trump administration on DEI, representation and staffing has forced my hand,” Cohen wrote in her firmwide email, which went viral on social media after she shared it publicly. “We do not have time. It is now or it is never, and if it is never, I will not continue to work here.” Representatives for Paul Weiss, Skadden and the White House did not immediately return requests for comment.

Cohen told NBC News on Friday that her calculus wasn’t whether her letter was going to backfire, nor was it whether she was going to be fired. (Cohen said her email access was suspended soon after she sent her letter.) Her key question was: “Is this going to be unhelpful to the aim that I am working towards, which is the protection of not just my colleagues, but the rule of law in the United States of America? Because the stakes really are that high.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/legal-community-shaken-powerful-law-firm-paul-weiss-trump-rcna197490