Latest news with #Moradian
Reuters
14-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Law firms' deals with Trump roil their staff, deepen industry rifts
April 14 (Reuters) - Law firms that have pledged $940 million so far in free legal work and made other concessions to U.S. President Donald Trump are facing a backlash from some of their own lawyers, who say the firms compromised too much to avoid a showdown with the administration. Los Angeles lawyer Siunik Moradian said on Monday that he received messages of support from people inside and outside his firm when he resigned on Friday from Simpson Thacher after its deal with Trump earlier in the day. "By capitulating today, Simpson Thacher joins several other historic, powerful, influential and well-resourced law firms in bending the knee and kissing the ring of authoritarianism," Moradian wrote in his resignation letter. He told Reuters that not enough individuals and institutions were standing up to the president, who has issued punitive executive orders against five law firms over their past legal work or political connections. "It takes intentional acts," Moradian said of his decision to resign as a Simpson Thacher associate. Jacqui Pittman, who was a Chicago-based associate at Kirkland, said she also resigned on Friday over her firm's deal with Trump the same day. Pittman wrote in a message to colleagues that she posted on LinkedIn that she "cannot continue at Kirkland in good conscience." Kirkland and Simpson Thacher did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday. Moradian and Pittman join lawyers at Skadden and Willkie Farr who also resigned over similar deals the firm reached with the president. Five firms on Friday agreed to devote between $100 million and $125 million in pro bono legal work to mutually supported causes with the administration and promised not to engage in what Trump called "illegal DEI discrimination." Four of the firms simultaneously settled on Friday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which agreed to end a probe into their diversity policies. The settling firms "affirmed their strong commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession," the White House said on Friday. Trump twice last week suggested using firms, opens new tab that made deals with him to work on trade negotiations. A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The firms that have reached agreements with Trump — nine in all — have defended the deals publicly or in internal memos as necessary to protect their interests without compromising their principles. "We know and understand that this development may weigh heavily on some of you and that you may not agree with the path we have taken," Simpson Thacher chairman Alden Millard wrote to the firm on Friday. Hundreds of lawyers and staff at A&O Shearman, another firm that struck a deal with Trump on Friday, had signed a letter earlier in the day urging the firm not to do so. 'We appreciate that A&O Shearman and other law firms are facing an unprecedented threat," said the letter, which was viewed by Reuters. 'However, we firmly believe that agreements of this nature contribute to the degradation of the rule of law in the United States.' A&O Shearman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The firm said in an internal memo after its deal was announced that its agreement, which also included a $125 million pro bono pledge, was consistent with its "core values." More than 800 law firms signed court briefs on Friday denouncing Trump's executive orders targeting law firms, warning they "seek to cow every other firm, large and small, into submission." The executive orders called on officials to cancel federal contracts held by the firms' clients and restricted access by their lawyers to federal buildings and officials. Four firms — Susman Godfrey; WilmerHale; Jenner & Block; and Perkins Coie — are suing the administration over the orders against them, arguing that they violate protections for free speech and due process under the U.S. Constitution. Judges have issued orders so far blocking provisions of the orders against WilmerHale; Jenner; and Perkins Coie. Susman filed its lawsuit on Friday. Read more: Law firm targeted by Trump sues as five other top firms make deals Bondi ally leads defense of Trump orders against law firms Former top lawyers at major companies decry Trump orders against law firms More than 500 law firms back Perkins Coie suit against punitive Trump order Why target these law firms? For Trump, it's personal Fight or cut a deal? Law firms face stark choice under Trump
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Simpson Thacher deal with Trump is 'shortsighted,' associate tells BI after resigning
The law firm Simpson Thacher & Bartlett made a deal with Trump to avoid a punitive executive order. The firm joins a growing list of law firms, like Paul Weiss, that have made similar agreements. A Simpson Thacher associate resigned in response, accusing Trump of "weaponizing" the legal system. The fallout from President Donald Trump's attack on big US law firms continues to deepen. While a few firms are fighting Trump's punitive executive orders in court, others are striking deals with the administration — which include millions of dollars in pro bono work for Trump-aligned causes — to avoid them altogether. The decision to seek deals with the Trump administration has divided the legal community. Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp, the first to make a deal with Trump, told his firm last month in an email that the firm had no choice because Trump's executive orders were an "existential" threat. Others have characterized the deals as a capitulation and a dangerous precedent. Several associates at targeted law firms have resigned in protest. On Friday, Siunik Moradian, a Los Angeles-based associate at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, joined them. In an email to his colleagues, Moradian criticized the firm's decision to make a deal with the White House, which included about $125 million in pro bono work. "By capitulating today, Simpson Thacher joins several other historic, powerful, influential, and well-resourced law firms in bending the knee and kissing the ring of authoritarianism," he wrote. "If even lawyers won't fight unlawful governmental weaponization of the courts, who will?" Moradian then left his position at the firm. In an interview with Business Insider, Moradian said he previously thought about leaving before Simpson Thacher made its deal with the Trump administration. "It was something that I was contemplating ever since Paul Weiss and Skadden capitulated, and I saw that, to my surprise, firms were a lot more willing to cut a deal than I thought," he said. "When the executive orders and the EEOC letters to the respective firms were sent out, I felt quite confident that these well-resourced law firms are not going to fold — they're going to fight this," he continued. "Once I saw that I was, I guess, misguided in that expectation, I had begun thinking what I would do if Simpson was put in that position as well." Moradian told BI that "from a legal standpoint, it seems like an easy fight." "I think what becomes really concerning for me is that these law firms are not making deals because of the strength of the Trump administration's claims or potential claims," he said. "They're extra-legal extortionist tactics, and it just seems like a dangerous precedent and something that the Trump administration is going to add to their playbook of weaponizing the legal system in the courts." Moradian joins former Skadden associates Rachel Cohen and Brenna Frey — who also resigned over their firm's deal with the administration. Trump has now secured about $940 million in pro bono legal work from a range of firms, including Simpson Thacher, Skadden, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Milbank LLP, and Paul Weiss. Several firms, on the other hand, have fought back. Jenner & Block, Perkins Coie, and WilmerHale have all sued the administration over the executive orders. And this week, Susman Godfrey, the target of a similar executive order, joined them. Moradian told BI that he sent his email across the firm to show there were differing views. "If the only exposure that people have to what the Trump administration is doing is firms capitulating and releasing these really sanitized statements about how promising hundreds of millions of dollars of pro bono legal services and wiping their DEI and being beholden to the Trump administration is a good thing, I think there should also be voices that are vocally saying, 'No, this isn't a good thing,'" he said. "Many more people than those that vocally quit are in opposition to this," he added. Moradian told BI that the legal industry is "under threat" and that firms should take a stand. "I think what is alarming to me is the easiest time to resist this type of weaponization and illegal action is as early as possible," he said. "This appeasement just seems incredibly shortsighted to me," he continued. "The Trump administration has started this fight with the legal system, and it's going to be harder to fight the more that these powerful institutions don't fight it." Simpson Thacher did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider
