Former Manhattan US attorney leaves Paul Weiss for law firm fighting Trump
Former Manhattan US Attorney Damian Williams has left Paul Weiss, the law firm he joined in January, becoming the latest partner to depart the Wall Street firm since it struck a deal with US President Donald Trump in March to rescind an executive order against it.
Williams is joining Jenner & Block, the firm said on Friday. Jenner, a smaller firm founded in Chicago, sued the Trump administration to block a similar Trump order and won a ruling last month permanently blocking it.
Jenner's announcement did not mention its fight against the Trump administration or the Paul Weiss deal. Paul Weiss in a statement thanked Williams for his contributions to the firm.
Williams was not immediately available for comment. In a statement, he said Jenner 'fearlessly advocates for its clients and provides outstanding strategic counsel through their most difficult challenges.'
Jenner said Williams, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden who led the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York from 2021 to 2024, will co-chair the firm's litigation department and investigations practice.
As US attorney, Williams oversaw the successful prosecutions of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and New Jersey Democratic US Senator Bob Menendez.
Jenner, with about 500 lawyers, was one of four law firms that sued the White House challenging an executive order that sought to strip government contracts from the firms' clients and to bar attorneys at the firms from entering federal buildings.
Paul Weiss instead agreed in March to devote $40 million in free legal services to causes approved by the administration in order to escape the order against it. The 1,000-lawyer firm's chairman Brad Karp has defended the agreement, saying it was necessary to protect the firm and did not compromise its principles.
Eight other prominent firms later reached similar deals with the White House. Some lawyers and attorney advocacy groups have denounced the agreements, while others have said the firms made strategic business decisions.
Five Paul Weiss partners left last month to form a new firm. They did not cite the agreement with Trump in their announcement.
The head of the pro bono practice at Paul Weiss also left the firm in April to focus on representing the Coalition for the Homeless with the Legal Aid Society.
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