Sad day indeed
Truth Out appears to be the only media outlet actually defining what Trump has blackmailed the firm to do – are we allowed..
However, following a meeting between Trump and Brad Karp, the chair of Paul, Weiss, the administration abruptly rescinded the order. “We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration,” Karp said in a statement.
According to a Truth Social post by Trump, the firm agreed to multiple terms, including representing right-wing legal causes in pro bono matters, which may open the door to providing free legal defense to conservative organizations, anti-LGBTQ groups, and other right-wing actors under the guise of nonpartisanship.
The agreement also requires the firm to “conduct a comprehensive audit of all of its employment practices,” effectively abandoning diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives as part of a broader right-wing campaign against DEI.
“Paul, Weiss has been dedicated to diversity since the day the firm was created. Our founders — two lawyers who were, by tradition, not allowed to practice together because of their differing religions — decided to create a firm where diversity was the norm, not the exception,” Karp was quoted as saying in the firm’s 2015 diversity brochure. That year, the firm achieved the highest possible rating on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, and was named “One of Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality.”
“This is the law firm that has spent decades proudly touting the fact that they worked with Thurgood Marshall on Brown v. Board of Education,” Coleman said. “ To go from that to promising the man who is hell-bent on destroying our democracy that they’ll ‘conduct an audit to ensure [their] hiring practices are merit based’…it’s a dark, dark moment for lawyers, the rule of law, and the future of our country.”
In addition, the firm committed to “dedicate the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services over the course of President Trump’s term to support the Administration’s initiatives,” including the Trump administration’s targeting of pro-Palestine activists under the guise of “combating antisemitism.”
The agreement further required the firm to “acknowledge the wrongdoing of former Paul, Weiss partner, Mark Pomerantz, the grave dangers of Weaponization, and the vital need to restore our System of Justice.” Pomerantz was instrumental in building legal cases against Trump, and the firm’s agreement to label his work as “wrongdoing” is notable — especially since Pomerantz left Paul, Weiss in 2012, long before he began investigating Trump’s finances.
Trump-Targeted Law Firm Caves, Vows $40M in Legal Support to Right-Wing Causes
