Yet another law firm has come to an agreement with Donald Trump’s administration, after the president began targeting major law firms that hired lawyers he didn’t like or took up cases and clients he claimed went against his agenda.
Trump shared a statement on Truth Social Wednesday announcing that Milbank LPP agreed to perform $100 million worth of pro bono legal services on “initiatives supported by the president and Milbank,” including partners of “diverse political ideologies,” and representing the “full political spectrum, including Conservative ideals.
“Milbank shall not deny representation on the basis of the political affiliation of the prospective client, or because of opposition to any government official,” read the statement.
Similarly to the other firms that have struck a deal with the Trump administration, Milbank agreed not to engage in DEI hiring practices, in accordance with Trump’s executive order barring the supposedly discriminatory programs.
The deal comes as the Trump administration has targeted several other major law firms, alleging that they’d committed wrongdoing by defending clients in cases about racial discrimination, elections, and immigration. Trump threatened to have their security clearances revoked and government contracts terminated unless they complied with his demands.
Crucially, Milbank wasn’t targeted by the Trump administration but had “approached” the government stating its “resolve to help end the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession,” according to the statement. Last week, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom also preemptively agreed to bend the knee to Trump. Even though they hadn’t been the direct target of Trump’s vendetta, these law firms demonstrate the chilling effect of Trump’s executive orders.
Willkie Farr & Gallagher, another major law firm, which happens to employ Doug Emhoff, announced a similar deal earlier Wednesday, leading to calls for the former second gentleman to resign.
Two other major firms, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, challenged the Trump administration’s threat to revoke their security clearances as an unprecedented attack on the Sixth Amendment and a blatant attempt to chill the legal profession from taking up cases that aren’t aligned with his political agenda. Another law firm, Perkins Coie, which was targeted for representing Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, challenged a similar order last month and was granted a temporary injunction against the Trump administration’s threat to revoke clearances and access.
Last month, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison caved to the administration and offered $40 million in free legal services, revoked its own DEI practices, and sold one of its own lawyers down the river, simply because he’d once investigated Trump for alleged financial crimes. Last month, Trump also targeted the firm Covington & Burling, suspending the security clearances of lawyers who had worked with former special prosecutor Jack Smith.
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