Top Washington lawyer creates new firm to defend officials targeted by Trump
May 2 (Reuters) - A prominent lawyer in Washington who defended Hunter Biden against criminal charges has launched a new law firm to represent former government officials and others targeted by the Trump administration.
Abbe Lowell left his large law firm Winston & Strawn to launch Lowell & Associates, which will defend clients including individuals, institutions and others that are "facing politicized investigations, civil and administrative actions," the firm said in a Friday statement.
here.
The new firm also includes two former lawyers at Skadden Arps who quit over its response to President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting the legal profession.
Skadden is one of nine firms that cut deals with the administration to avoid the Republican president's crackdown on the legal industry. Four other firms have sued to block Trump's orders, which restricted their business over the president's claims that they had "weaponized" the legal system against him or his allies.
One of the ex-Skadden lawyers, Rachel Cohen, said there is a need for attorneys "willing to stand up to the government when it oversteps."
Two other lawyers are also joining the new firm from Winston & Strawn.
Lowell is representing New York Attorney General Letitia James after the Trump administration referred her to the Justice Department for allegedly falsifying real estate records. James has denied the allegations.
The new firm said it is also representing clients fighting the cancellation of grant funding by the Department of Government Efficiency and the federal government.
Lowell represented Hunter Biden, former Democratic President Joe Biden's son, against criminal gun and tax changes before he was pardoned in December. His clients have also included former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.
The new firm comes amid a broader effort to mount and sustain legal challenges to the Trump administration.
There are more than 200 lawsuits opposing key Trump policy initiatives, including efforts to curtail transgender and immigrant rights, and eliminating agency and grant funding.
Advocacy group Democracy Forward, which has filed more than 50 legal actions since the election, said this week it had hired Brian Netter, a former partner at Mayer Brown and a top attorney in the Biden-era U.S. Justice Department.
Netter said in a statement that he was joining the organization during "what may be the most consequential moment in the history of the U.S. courts."
Reporting by Sara Merken and Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
42 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Oleksandr Usyk sends Donald Trump ‘live in my house for one week' message
Usyk, the former undisputed world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, painted a bleak picture of what life is like in Ukraine and believes Trump needs to have a clearer comprehension of the situation. 'I advise American president Donald Trump to go to Ukraine and live in my house for one week, only one week,' Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, told the BBC. Oleksandr Usyk is the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion (Nick Potts/PA) 'Watch what is going on. Every night there are bombs, rockets flying above my house. 'People who don't live in Ukraine, who don't support Ukraine, who haven't watched what's going on, don't understand what's going on.' Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional contests, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. 'I worry about what happens in my country,' 38-year-old Usyk added. 'It's very bad because Ukrainian people have died. It's not just military people – children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Oleksandr Usyk sends Donald Trump ‘live in my house for one week' message
Oleksandr Usyk has invited United States president Donald Trump to live in his house for one week to better understand what is unfolding in the war in Ukraine. Trump vowed to resolve the conflict 'in 24 hours' upon taking office but more than three years on from Russia president Vladimir Putin launching a full scale invasion of Ukraine, no end appears in sight. Usyk, the former undisputed world champion at cruiserweight and heavyweight, painted a bleak picture of what life is like in Ukraine and believes Trump needs to have a clearer comprehension of the situation. 'I advise American president Donald Trump to go to Ukraine and live in my house for one week, only one week,' Usyk, the WBC, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion, told the BBC. 'Watch what is going on. Every night there are bombs, rockets flying above my house. ' People who don't live in Ukraine, who don't support Ukraine, who haven't watched what's going on, don't understand what's going on.' Usyk, who has won all 23 of his professional contests, is currently in a training camp to prepare for a rematch with IBF champion Daniel Dubois on July 19 at Wembley Stadium. 'I worry about what happens in my country,' 38-year-old Usyk added. 'It's very bad because Ukrainian people have died. It's not just military people – children, women, grandmothers and grandfathers, too.'
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Tensions over Trump's state visit as President demands 'full bells and whistles'
Expectations from Donald Trump's team are said to be sky high ahead of September's historic second state visit, with intense behind the scenes negotiations ongoing Donald Trump's historic second state visit to Britain is causing a row because of the President's sky high expectations. There are intense behind the scenes negotiations as Trump wants a full 'bells and whistles' trip. But there are problems because he cannot visit Buckingham Palace and a coach parade has been ruled out on security grounds. Trump is coming to London in September and he will be the first US President to have two state visits. There are talks ongoing about organisation details. The Sunday Times first reported that those familiar with the discussions said Downing Street and the Palace have struggled to agree the details with the White House, where expectations are said to be sky high. The source said: 'He can't go to Buckingham Palace because it is being renovated... And he can't have a state coach for security reasons." President Xi of China was given a special coach parade down the Mall back in 2015, but it was targeted by protests from human rights campaigners. Officials said Trump is a far bigger assassination threat and there is no coach which is sufficiently armoured to allow him to use it. Another senior figure involved in the discussions said: "There is a challenge in trying to understand what they want and in tempering expectations of what can be delivered." However, political sources said September's visit would be a "full bells and whistles affair" in which "the red carpet is rolled out in a big way". One senior figure said: "It will be full pomp and ceremony. The US relationship is important." Some Trump allies think it might be better if the state visit was confined to Balmoral, the royal estate in Scotland, which is remote. One said: 'That would do away with the protests and solve the security concerns.' Last month the King visited Canada, in which he was the first British monarch in almost 70 years to preside over the opening of the Canadian parliament. It was widely seen as a supportive gesture after Trump suggested it should become the 51st state of America. While he was there Charles delivered a speech which was a coded rebuke to Trump's hopes of making the United States bigger. It is said to be an open secret in Whitehall and the royal household that the King is happy that President Macron of France is arriving on a state visit before Trump.
