Tag: Jenner & Block

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Simpson Thacher and Jenner & Block—Big Law’s Answer to Goofus and Gallant—Show the Cost of Cowardice and the Economic Value of Courage

One Swallow Does Not a Summer Make—But I Think This is the Start of a Trend

N.Y. Times, Microsoft Drops Law Firm That Made a Deal With Trump From a Case

The Times writes,

When big law firms attacked by President Trump decided to make a deal with him rather than fight, many did so because their leaders feared that clients would abandon a firm caught on the administration’s bad side.

Now that logic may be getting less compelling. A major company, Microsoft, has dropped a law firm that settled with the administration in favor of one that is fighting it. … 

On April 22, several attorneys at the law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett informed the Delaware Court of Chancery that they would no longer be representing Microsoft in a case related to the company’s 2023 acquisition of the video game giant Activision Blizzard, according to court filings.

Simpson Thacher reached a deal with the White House last month in which the firm committed to perform $125 million in free legal work for causes acceptable to the Trump administration. In a joint statement with other firms making similar agreements, Simpson Thacher said the pro bono work would be on behalf of “a wide range of underserved populations.”

On the same day that the Simpson Thacher lawyers filed paperwork withdrawing from the Microsoft case, at least three partners at the firm Jenner & Block informed the court that they would be representing Microsoft in the case. Jenner is fighting in court to permanently block a Trump administration executive order targeting its business. …

In some cases, a client may worry that a law firm that has reached a deal with the White House has a conflict of interest that prevents it from aggressively representing the client. For example, the client may be a defendant in a lawsuit brought by the federal government and worry that a settling law firm would be reluctant to stand up to the administration.

Other clients may have broader concerns. A senior partner at another firm that does not have an agreement with the White House said his firm was beginning to attract clients from firms that had settled with the administration. The partner, who was not authorized to discuss client matters publicly, said prospective clients had indicated that they had lost confidence in settling firms for not standing up to an attack on the rule of law.

Some firms challenging the administration have sought to capitalize on this frustration, suggesting that their pushback reflects a commitment to fight on behalf of their clients as well.

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Bad Bad Donald Trump, Baddest Man in the Whole Damn Dump

Wednesday

“They’re all bending and saying, ‘Sir, thank you very much,’” Mr. Trump said, adding that they were asking, “‘Where do I sign? Where do I sign?’”

Friday (Today)

Jenner & Block, WilmerHale both file complaints, and both are granted temporary restraining orders by the close of business the same day. 

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Jenner & Block and WilmerHale to Orange Mussolini: Fuck You Very Much

The Sheep are Separating from the Goats

There are reports that Skadden Arps is about to do a deal with Trump along the lines of the Paul Weiss capitulation. I am feeling nauseous. But all is far from lost. 

Jenner & Block is a large, Chicago-based firm with a number of offices. It is among the top 100 American firms in profit per partner. It heavily emphasizes litigation, including a serious amount of pro bono work—much of it for organizations Trump does not like. 

When the firm got in Trump’s cross hairs, it responded, in words or substance, “Fuck You Very Much.”

The firm’s statement of today reads,

Today, Jenner & Block filed a lawsuit to stop an unconstitutional executive order that has already been declared unlawful by a federal court. We expect to prevail quickly.For more than 100 years, Jenner has stood firm and tirelessly advocated for our clients against all adversaries, including against unlawful government action. We once again go to court to do just that. To do otherwise would mean compromising our ability to zealously advocate for all of our clients and capitulating to unconstitutional government coercion, which is simply not in our DNA. 

Jenner & Block’s complaint, filed on its behalf by Cooley LLP, is 64 pages long and alleges 13 constitutional violations.

WilmerHale is the union of the old DC-based Wilmer Cutler & Pickering and the old Boston-based Hale and Dorr. It has 1000+ lawyers, and is particularly prominent in litigation. It was recently ranked as number 31 among American law firms. 

To represent the firm, WilmerHale retained renowed conservative attorney Paul Clement, of whom Wikipedia notes,

During his career, Clement has argued cases on behalf of many conservative causes, such as opposing gun control;[4][5] defending a ban on federal recognition of same-sex marriage;[6][7]advocating to enjoin the Affordable Care Act;[8][9] defending Republican gerrymandering in North Carolina;[10] and, as Acting Solicitor General, defending the Controlled Substances Act under the Commerce Clause,[11] as well as the Bush administration’s treatment of terrorism suspects.

Mr. Clement’s complaint on behalf of WilmerHale runs to 57 pages, describes in great detail the eleven constitutional violations of his client’s rights, and is a masterpiece. 

Also worthy of praise is the brief in support of a temporary restraining order by Williams and Connolly, on behalf of Perkins Coie. Follow the links and read ‘em both. 

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Trump Versus Big Law: Which Side are You on, Boys, Which Side are You On?

N.Y. Times, Rivals Pounce on Paul Weiss, a Top Law Firm, After Trump’s Order: Fears that competitors could take its top rainmaking talent added to the law firm’s worries about a Trump executive order that targeted it

The Guardian, ‘A capitalistic cowardice’: big law firms being threatened by Trump face pressure to speak out

Letter to Paul Weiss from 140 Alumni

Politico, This Law Firm Stood Up to Government Intimidation—and Came Out on Top: A scrappy law firm decided to represent federal workers accused of disloyalty and survived to become a legal behemoth

Financial Times, Donald Trump widens war on legal industry with order targeting Jenner & Block

Yahoo News, Jenner & Block signals it will stand its ground after being targeted in Trump’s war on Big Law

Comments

Jenner & Block

It’s early days yet, but initial indications are that Jenner & Block is telling Mango Mussolini, “Go pound sand. See you in court.”

That’s consistent with my intuition—for what it may be worth—that in going after Jenner & Block, Trump has picked the wrong bunch of hombres to mess around with. 

Paul Weiss

The New York Times piece is, as the saying goes, deeply reported. In other words, as I would have expected, Paul Weiss is leaking like a sieve. 

I don’t want to be a Monday morning quarterback. I don’t want to make this situation into a medieval morality play. I don’t want to make the Paul Weiss imbroglio a simple story about courage versus cowardice. That said, several points occur.

One, despite all the leaking and all the reporting, I doubt that we’ll ever know, I doubt that the Paul Weiss partnership at large will ever know, what all the key players—the firm’s biggest clients and its biggest movers and shakers—said to one another, to bring about Mr. Karp’s surrender. 

Two, I think the Paul Weiss brand will never be the same. I think that nobody is going to put Humpty Dumpty together again.

Three, I think the situation with the firm is very fluid. A giant law firm looks solid and powerful and invincible from the outside. Until, one day, maybe it isn’t.

A law firm’s assets consist of people. People have legs. They can walk out the door. When enough of them walk out the door, no more law firm. Ask Dewey & LeBoeuf. Ask Howrey LLP. Ask Thacher Proffitt & Wood. And many others.

Third, and closely related: the associates as well as the partners of Paul Weiss are highly skilled and highly employable. Every mother’s daughter and son of them could get an excellent job somewhere else. Tomorrow. They could be sitting at their new desks this coming Monday. 

Fourth, while I’m not predicting the firm’s demise, I do think it will quickly become apparent that the firm has badly blotted its copybook and that its brand will never be the same. 

Who wants to join a law firm that has the reputation for being a bunch of wimps?

If you have major legal exposure and need to hire someone to represent you, who wants to hire a law firm perceived to consist of a bunch of doormats?

Increasingly, it looks like Trump versus everyone else. It looks like Trump stands for kakistrocracy, corruption, and chaos. 

It looks like a time for the legal community to ask, “Which side are you on, boys, which side are you on?”