At least two large law firms that struck deals with President Trump to avoid punitive executive orders have committed to doing free legal work for the Commerce Department, according to two people briefed on the matter.
The firms — Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Kirkland & Ellis — are working on a range of matters for the Commerce Department, including trade deals, according to one of the people briefed on the matter.
The firms either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment. The New York Times reported last week that Kirkland & Ellis and another firm that had settled with Mr. Trump, Skadden Arps, had been connected with the Commerce Department about working on trade deals for the government, but that it was unclear whether they were being paid or working for free as part of the arrangements they had struck with the president.
For Paul Weiss, the arrangement is a dramatic turn from where it stood during Mr. Trump’s first administration, when it prided itself on fighting him in court. The firm has also had a long history of fund-raising for Democratic candidates.
Despite having stood up in the past to the government on issues like civil rights, Paul Weiss became the first firm to strike a deal with the administration to head off a potentially crippling executive order issued by Mr. Trump in March. That deal became something of a template for other firms to follow.
In the past, some law firms have done work for the federal government at a reduced rate. But coming just months after they struck deals with the president, the free work is likely to raise new questions about whether the firms felt compelled to do so to stay in Mr. Trump’s good graces.
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The post Two Big Law Firms Said to Be Doing Free Work for Trump Administration appeared first on New York Times.
