President Donald Trump has reached a deal with five law firms that will allow them to avoid punishing executive orders in exchange for hundreds of millions in free legal services.
The deal represents a massive win for Trump, who has leveraged White House sanctions, which has sent dozens of massive law firms scrambling to kiss the ring and cut deals with the Trump administration.
Law firms Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; and Latham & Watkins LLP, have all agreed to provide $125 million each in free legal work for causes ranging from representing veterans to fighting antisemitism.
In return for these agreements, the Trump administration will end inquiries from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that were investigating discriminatory hiring practices at those firms.
Another law firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, also agreed to provide $100 million in free legal services and also signed agreements not to engage in "illegal" DEI hiring practices and political discrimination.
Trump signed multiple executive orders targeting leftist law firms engaged in illegal hiring practices and political discrimination.
Trump utilized a number of strategies, including stripping the firm's lawyers’ security clearances, barring their employees from access to federal buildings, and terminating law firms' federal contracts.
This onslaught of executive orders with brutal penalties was too much for many of the nation's most prestigious law firms, who quickly caved and agreed to both do away with DEI practices and partisanship in serving clients.
Certain law firms like WilmerHale, Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block have taken the issue to court, but other law firms have seen capitulation as the cheaper and easier option.
Perkins Coie, in particular, has been targeted by the Trump administration due to its involvement with Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and the infamous Russian collusion hoax designed to mislead voters about Trump.
The other law firms who are holding out against Trump have deep connections with the Democrat Party and have been involved in the criminal investigations against Trump, all of which failed.
Those firms that are closely tied to the Democrat Party are going to fight tooth and nail to stop Trump, but their case will be difficult to defend.
The number of law firms that have already made agreements with the Trump administration suggests that there is little recourse to prevent Trump from hamstringing law firms should they resist his requirements for non-partisan behavior and equal hiring practices.
No doubt, this legal battle will form some impactful legal precedents that could reign in powerful law firms that are overwhelmingly leftist.
