Washington (AFP) – A third major US law firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which employs former vice president Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, reached a deal with President Donald Trump on Tuesday to avoid potential sanctions. Since taking office, the Republican president has moved to settle scores with the law firms that had represented his political foes in the past or helped bring him to court on civil or criminal charges.
Trump has signed executive orders targeting five so-called “Big Law” firms so far while three firms have now entered into agreements with the president. Trump said Willkie Farr had agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes such as assisting veterans, fighting anti-Semitism, and others that represent “Conservative ideals.”
“Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP proactively reached out to President Trump and his Administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession,” the White House said. Two other firms — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — have also agreed in recent days to provide legal services to support Trump administration initiatives — $40 million in Paul Weiss’s case and $100 million for Skadden Arps.
Three firms targeted by Trump — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale — have sued his administration after the White House stripped security clearances from their attorneys and blocked them from doing business with the government. In all three cases, federal judges have issued temporary restraining orders blocking Trump’s executive orders from taking effect pending further review.
Willkie Farr, besides employing the former Second Gentleman, is also the home of former investigators for the congressional committee that probed the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by Trump supporters. WilmerHale is the former law firm of Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Jenner & Block once employed a prosecutor who was a key member of Mueller’s investigative team.
In its lawsuit, Jenner & Block called Trump’s executive order targeting the firm “an unconstitutional abuse of power against lawyers, their clients, and the legal system.” It is intended to hamper the ability of individuals and businesses to have the lawyers of their choice zealously represent them,” it said. “And it is intended to coerce law firms and lawyers into renouncing the Administration’s critics and ceasing certain representations adverse to the government.”
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