Data: Axios research; Chart: Axios Visuals
America’s most prestigious law firms have agreed to provide almost $1 billion worth of legal work to President Trump — and that total will likely grow.
- Trump announced deals with 5 firms Friday. He’s now gotten the giants of Big Law to pledge a combined $940 million in pro bono legal work for conservative causes.
Zoom in: Trump began this process by signing executive orders targeting firms that had employed or represented his critics.
- The first firm to cut a deal — Paul, Weiss — argued that $40 million in pro bono work was a small price to pay compared to the money, clients and even top talent it could have lost if it chose to fight.
- As more firms have capitulated, Trump has been able to extract significantly bigger concessions using significantly less leverage, even from firms with which he had no personal grievance.
Four of yesterday’s agreements came from firms that were placed under investigation for their internal diversity policies — a less severe threat than Trump’s early tactic of revoking lawyers’ security clearances.
- They each agreed to provide $125 million worth of work on issues that both Trump and the firms support.
The other side: Three of the prestigious law firms targeted by Trump have opted to fight his threats in court rather than make a deal.