Attacking The Lawyers, Trump Edition
When it was about representing Trump, the left had no qualms about vilifying the lawyers who would deign to defend such a bad man. If they did so unethically or criminally, fair enough, but if they did so ethically and within the bounds of the law, they were wrong. That’s what lawyers do, represent people. Even people the woke despised. Even Trump.
But then, the attacks weren’t coming from the White House and didn’t carry with them the power of the government to prevent the firms from being lawyers, doing the job of lawyers. There was “moral condemnation,” as the woke castigated lawyers for making the volitional decision to defend Darth Cheeto, but nobody stripped away their security clearance, barred government lawyers from talking to them and forbid their entry into government buildings.
It takes a truly petty person to exact retribution against the lawyers about whom he felt aggrieved in such ways. Trump is that truly petty person.
President Trump on Friday opened a third attack against a private law firm, restricting the business activities of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison just days after a federal judge ruled such measures appeared to violate the Constitution.
The president signed an executive order to suspend security clearances held by people at the firm, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest. The order also seeks to sharply limit Paul, Weiss employees from entering government buildings, getting government jobs or receiving any money from federal contracts.
The reason for this action is that a former AUSA turned partner at the firm, Mark Pomerantz, whom the firm said separated and retired in 2012, served as a special assistant to New York County District Attorney Cy Vance in investigating Trump.
This comes on the heels of Trump issuing similar Executive Orders against two other biglaw firms.
In the Perkins Coie order, Mr. Trump had sought to block the firm’s lawyers from entering government buildings, conferring with government officials or getting government jobs. During a hearing before Judge Howell this week, a lawyer representing Perkins Coie said the order, were it allowed to stand, would kill the firm.
Mr. Trump said he issued the order because of Perkins Coie’s role representing Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign and because of its connection to a dossier of unsubstantiated allegations against him.
Judge Beryl Howell did not think well of Trump’s EO, which she said sent “little chills down my spine.”
Mr. Trump had previously signed a memo stripping security clearances from any lawyers at a different firm, Covington & Burling, who were involved in representing Jack Smith, the former special counsel who pursued two separate indictments of the president in 2023.
In contrast to certain of the lawyers, these law firms didn’t engage in criminal or unethical conduct in the course of their representation. They just pissed off the little guy by representing his enemies, and so they, by extension, because his enemies as well. The difference is that Trump has the authority to do some damage to the firms, and lacks impulse control when there is no adult in the room to stop him from indulging his pettiest whims.
The message to other lawyers and firms that might represent clients against Trump is that they may very well find themselves on the wrong end of an Executive Order, impairing their ability to serve clients and practice law. Much as the Dick The Butcher quote seems applicable here, you already know it and need not see it again.
In looking back at my defense of lawyers for doing their job, whether for a client who enjoys public popularity at a time or is widely despised, the theme is clear. We have a legal system because it’s better than shootouts in the street whenever there is a dispute. Our legal system generally involves lawyers, whose job it is to represent folks. Much as they may not be under a legal duty to defend someone despised in civil actions, it remains fundamental to our system of law that litigants have access to representation in order to pursue their cause, regardless of whether they are loved or hated. This is what lawyers do.
It’s hardly surprising that Trump has used his authority to issue Executive Orders intended to harm, if not destroy, the law firms he perceives as his enemies because of their representation. Sure, there are Republicans in the firms as well as Democrats. Indeed, it would be unsurprising to learn that the former exceed the latter by a wide margin, recognizing the generally conservative natures of biglaw. But none of that enters into Trump’s calculations when he decides to exact retribution for past grievances. And the message is clear: Don’t side against Trump.
But that’s what lawyers do. We represent clients, whether loved or loathed. Even Trump.
