Latest news with #Williams&Connolly
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Ramps Up War on Big Law Firms with New Threat to ‘Sue'
President Donald Trump has claimed he is suing the biggest law firm to fight back against his sweeping attempts to do them harm. Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday that he was 'suing' Perkins Coie, a Democratic-tied firm, accusing it of 'egregious and unlawful acts' just hours before a court hearing about an executive order he signed which target them. The order banned Perkins Coie lawyers from entering federal buildings, which makes it impossible for them to work on cases involving security clearances and makes other cases difficult too. They were also banned from bidding for federal contracts. Other big law firms targeted by Trump had settled with his Department of Justice, offering free legal services for MAGA-friendly causes worth in the hundreds of millions of dollars. But Perkins Coie stood up to Trump—and hired a different law firm, Williams & Connolly, to sue the government. His Truth Social rant also claimed his action was targeted at one specific, unnamed, lawyer at the firm. In the same post, Trump also ranted at District Judge Beryl Howell. The Obama appointee is presiding over the case challenging his executive order and described Perkins Coie's lawyers as 'brave' for bringing the challenge against it. The president blasted Howell for a 'sick judicial temperament' and being a 'highly biased and unfair disaster.' 'She ruled against me in the past, in a shocking display of sick judicial temperament, on a case that ended up working out very well for me, on appeal,' the president claimed in his post. 'Her ruling was so pathologically bad that it became the 'talk of the town,'' he continued. Lawyers for both Perkins Coie and another Trump target, law giant, WilmerHale were in court Wednesday in an effort to permanently block executive orders against them. The two firms have argued that the orders are unconstitutional and should be dismissed without a trial, according to The New York Times. Despite the post claiming Trump was suing, there was no evidence that he, or the Department of Justice, is doing so. The White House and Perkins Coie did not respond to requests for comment. Last month, Howell rejected a Trump administration request that she recuse herself from the case over Trump's executive order against the law firm. 'When the U.S. Department of Justice engages in this rhetorical strategy of ad hominem attack, the stakes become much larger than only the reputation of the targeted federal judge,' Howell wrote in her March 26 opinion. 'This strategy is designed to impugn the integrity of the federal judicial system and blame any loss on the decision-maker rather than fallacies in the substantive legal arguments presented,' she continued. On Wednesday, the president accused Howell of 'Trump Derangement Syndrome.' 'To put it nicely, Beryl Howell is an unmitigated train wreck. NO JUSTICE!!!,' Trump finished his post. It is the latest in a series of attacks Trump has lobbed against federal judges assigned to cases challenging the president's actions since the start of his second term. Trump has also raged against District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg who was at the center of the fight over deportation flights. The president took to social media last month to call for his impeachment and blast him as an Obama appointee. Boasberg was an Obama appointee but had previously been appointed to a lower rung in the judiciary by George W. Bush.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Supreme Court flare-ups grab headlines as justices feel the heat
Tensions on the Supreme Court have flared this term as justices have clashed with each other and with lawyers at oral arguments amid a wave of Trump-era emergency appeals. These exchanges at any other forum would hardly even raise an eyebrow. But at the Supreme Court, where decorum and respect are bedrock principles and underpin even the most casual cross-talk between justices, these recent clashes are significant. After one particularly acrimonious exchange, several longtime Supreme Court watchers noted that the behavior displayed was unlike anything they'd seen in "decades" of covering the high court. Here are two high-profile Supreme Court spats that have made headlines in recent weeks. 100 Days Of Injunctions, Trials And 'Teflon Don': Trump Second Term Meets Its Biggest Tests In Court Supreme Court Justices, from left, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Chief Justice John Roberts, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor attend the 60th inaugural ceremony in 2025. Last month, Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor quarreled briefly during oral arguments in Mahmoud v. Taylor, a case focused on LGBTQ-related books in elementary schools and whether parents with religious objections can "opt out" children being read such material. Read On The Fox News App The exhange occurred when Sotomayor asked Mahmoud attorney Eric Baxter about a book titled "Uncle Bobby's Wedding," a story that invoked a same-sex relationship. Sotomayor asked Baxter whether exposure to same-sex relationships in children's books like the one in question should be considered "coercion." Baxter began responding when Alito chimed in. "I've read that book as well as a lot of these other books," Alito said. "Do you think it's fair to say that all that is done in 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding' is to expose children to the fact that there are men who marry other men?" After Baxter objected, Alito noted that the book in question "has a clear message" but one that some individuals with "traditional religious beliefs don't agree with." Sotomayor jumped in partway through Alito's objection, "What a minute, the reservation is – " "Can I finish?" Alito said to Sotomayor in a rare moment of frustration. He continued, "It has a clear moral message, and it may be a good message. It's just a message that a lot of religious people disagree with." Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court To Review El Salvador Deportation Flight Case From left, Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagen, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh "There is a growing heat to the exchanges between the justices," Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley observed on social media after the exchange. The Sotomayor-Alito spat made some court-watchers uncomfortable. But it paled in comparison to the heated, tense exchange that played out just one week later between Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Lisa Blatt, a litigator from the firm Williams & Connolly. The exchange took place during oral arguments in A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, a case about whether school districts can be held liable for discriminating against students with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Gorsuch scolded Blatt, an experienced Supreme Court litigator who was representing the public schools in the case, after she accused the other side of "lying." What played out was a remarkably heated exchange, if only by Supreme Court standards. Several court observers noted that they had never seen Gorsuch so angry, and others remarked they had never seen counsel accuse the other side of "lying." "You believe that Mr. Martinez and the Solicitor General are lying? Is that your accusation?" Gorsuch asked Blatt, who fired back, "Yes, absolutely." Counsel "should be more careful with their words," Gorsuch told Blatt in an early tone of warning. "OK, well, they should be more careful in mischaracterizing a position by an experienced advocate of the Supreme Court, with all due respect," Blatt responded. Several minutes later, Gorsuch referenced the lying accusation again, "Ms. Blatt, I confess I'm still troubled by your suggestion that your friends on the other side have lied." "I'd ask you to reconsider that phrase," he said. "You can accuse people of being incorrect, but lying, lying is another matter." He then began to read through quotations that she had entered before the court, before she interrupted again. "I'm not finished," Gorsuch told Blatt, raising his voice. "Fine," she responded. Shortly after, Gorsuch asked Blatt to withdraw her earlier remarks that accused the other side of lying. "Withdraw your accusation, Ms. Blatt," Gorsuch said. "Fine, I withdraw," she shot back. Plaintiffs said in rebuttal that they would not dignify the name-calling. Supreme Court The exchange sparked some buzz online, including from an experienced appeals court litigator, Raffi Melkonian, who wrote on social media, "I've never heard Justice Gorsuch so angry." "Both of those moments literally stopped me in my tracks," said Steve Vladeck, a professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. "You might want to listen somewhere where you can cringe in peace." Mark Joseph Stern, a court reporter for Slate, described the exchange as "extremely tense" and described Blatt's behavior as "indignant and unrepentant." Original article source: Supreme Court flare-ups grab headlines as justices feel the heat
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
MrBeast's Latest Challenge: Writing a Novel With James Patterson
Jimmy Donaldson — better known to his hundreds of millions of online followers as MrBeast — has leveraged his vast social media audience to sell everything from Beast-branded burgers, snack packs and chocolate bars to water bottles, toys, basketballs and $65 hoodies. Now, he's aiming to sell his followers an unlikely new product: a novel. Donaldson is teaming up with the mega-best-selling author James Patterson on a thriller, which will be published by HarperCollins in 2026, with a simultaneous global release in 15 languages. The plot sounds like an over-the-top version of one of MrBeast's viral YouTube videos, competitions that often offer enormous sums of cash to contestants who can prevail in absurd challenges ('Survive 100 Days Trapped, Win $500,000'). The novel will center on an extreme global contest, in which 100 players compete to prove their leadership skills by surviving life-threatening tests in dangerous locations around the world. In a battle to win the billion-dollar prize, participants form relationships and betray one another as they struggle to avoid elimination, or death. The fight to land the project also turned into an intense competition among publishers, who were tantalized by the viral marketing possibilities of signing a social media star with 500 million followers. News of the collaboration began circulating in March, with reports of a heated bidding war with offers in the eight-figure range. HarperCollins did not disclose the financial details of the deal, which was negotiated by Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell of Williams & Connolly on behalf of Patterson, and by Byrd Leavell and Albert Lee at United Talent Agency representing MrBeast. It's unclear whether MrBeast's massive online audience will translate into book sales. Publishers have tried for decades to harness the marketing power of social media stars, with varying success. But MrBeast is a star of a different magnitude. 'He's such a smart operator in understanding the social media algorithms, what drives engagement, what drives activation,' said Brian Murray, president and chief executive of HarperCollins. 'One of the challenges we have in publishing is there's so much noise out there in the media and entertainment landscape, and trying to break through with books can be difficult.' Donaldson rose to online fame with stunt videos centered around daredevil spectacles ('I Survived the 5 Deadliest Places on Earth,' 'I Paid a Real Assassin to Try to Kill Me') and guerrilla-style philanthropy ('Tipping Waitresses With Real Gold Bars,' 'Giving a Random Homeless Man $10,000'). His formula has proved remarkably popular, drawing some 390 million YouTube subscribers. One of his biggest videos, '$456,000 Squid Game in Real Life!,' posted in 2021, has more than 788 million views. His approach — often using boatloads of money to bait people into extreme stunts — has drawn criticism from skeptics as well as contestants. Last year, a group of people who participated in 'Beast Games,' Donaldson's reality competition show, sued Donaldson and the production companies behind the show, accusing them of exposing contestants to 'dangerous circumstances and conditions.' But dissent and lawsuits haven'thampered the growth of Donaldson's business, or his ambition. In a statement released through HarperCollins, Donaldson said he was drawn to writing fiction because he hoped to encourage his audience and others to read more, a goal he shares with Patterson, who has helped to launch and fund literacy programs for young readers. 'We're both passionate about inspiring people around the world to read more, and I hope this also opens doors for other creators looking to get published,' Donaldson said. After Donaldson told his agents at UTA that he wanted to expand into fiction, they introduced him to Patterson, a blockbuster author and one of Donaldson's favorite writers. Patterson came to visit Donaldson at his studio in Greenville, N.C., where they discussed ideas for several hours, eventually settling on a thriller concept that was on brand for MrBeast. Patterson has collaborated with high-profile figures before, among them Bill Clinton, Viola Davis and Dolly Parton. To date, his novels have reportedly sold more than 400 million copies. But a MrBeast collaboration offers access to a massive new audience of younger readers raised on social media. The novel with MrBeast, which does not yet have a title or a release date, will be published in the United States by the HarperCollins imprint William Morrow. In a meeting with HarperCollins executives, Donaldson seemed enthusiastic about using his online clout to sell books in creative ways, Murray said. 'He's an unbelievable young entrepreneur,' he said. 'He's like: Failure is not an option. I'm going to move these things.'
Washington Post
02-04-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Law firms must sometimes take on clients the White House detests
Gregory B. Craig was assistant to the president and special counsel for Bill Clinton from 1998-1999 and White House counsel for Barack Obama from 2009-2010. On March 30, 1981, I was a young partner at the law firm of Williams & Connolly working for the firm's senior partner, Edward Bennett Williams, the leading trial lawyer of his generation and one of the greatest in American history.
Washington Post
12-03-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Judge says Trump penalties on law firm send 'chills down my spine'
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to at least temporarily halt the unprecedented penalties it levied on a powerful law firm that has represented clients whom President Donald Trump considers his political enemies. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled from the bench after the two-hour hearing, saying Trump exerted 'extraordinary power' and that Perkins Coie proved it had suffered immediate damages from the penalties. The judge granted the firm a temporary restraining order, which would prevent some of the punishments from going into effect, and said she will hold an additional hearing before issuing a full ruling on the matter. Last week, Trump signed an executive order hitting Perkins Coie with a sweeping directive that bans the federal government from hiring the firm, or from using contractors who work with it, except in limited circumstances. The order also bars Perkins Coie employees from entering federal buildings and suspends their security clearances. Howell warned that the order could damage the integrity of the entire legal profession, intimidating lawyers from taking up cases that the president views as going against his interests. 'I have enormous respect for Williams & Connolly,' Howell said, referring to the law firm representing Perkins Coie in the case, 'and enormous respect for them taking this case when not every law firm would.' The judge said Trump's executive order appeared to violate the First Amendment rights of Perkins Coie and noted that the firm was not granted any due process. She said the Trump administration wrote the order in such a broad manner that it was hard to determine any goal beyond retaliation. 'It sends little chills down my spine,' Howell said, describing the executive order as the president punishing a company he believes is not acting in the president's interest. 'Why shouldn't we be chilled by this?' The restraining order does not apply to a portion of Trump's executive order that suspended Perkins Coie's security clearances and another dealing with the firm's diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The law firm has challenged those provisions in its lawsuit but did not include them in its request for a temporary restraining order. Perkins Coie has lost clients each day since the executive order, Dane Butswinkas, the Williams & Connolly attorney representing Perkins Coie, told Howell. He said the firm's biggest 15 clients, accounting for about 25 percent of its business, all hold government contracts. 'This executive order takes a wrecking ball to the rule of law,' Butswinkas said. 'The effects have been immediate … It will spell the end of the law firm.' In a highly unusual move, Attorney General Pam Bondi's chief of staff, Chad Mizelle, argued on behalf of the government at the hearing. He said that Trump believes Perkin Coie cannot be trusted with the nation's secrets and has the right to yank access to government contracts from a private individual or company. 'This is clear Article II executive authority,' Mizelle said, referring to the constitutional provision that establishes the powers of the executive branch. Perkins Coie represented Hillary Clinton's campaign and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential race. It also contracted with the research firm that produced the now-discredited opposition dossier that alleged extensive contacts between Trump and Russia during the campaign. The two main attorneys involved in that work — Marc E. Elias and Michael Sussmann — are no longer employed by Perkins Coie. The discredited document, known as the Steele dossier, was full of unverified allegations assembled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele. In recent weeks, Trump also ordered the suspension of security clearances of some attorneys at the law firm Covington & Burling, which has represented former special counsel Jack Smith pro bono. From late 2022 until after the November presidential election, Smith led the federal investigations of Trump for allegedly mishandling classified materials and trying to block the 2020 election results.
