Four top partners at Paul Weiss announced late Friday that they were leaving the law firm, a major blow to the firm in the wake of its decision to cut a deal with President Trump to head off an executive order that would have restricted its business.
The partners — Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson, Jeannie Rhee and Jessica Phillips — said they would form their own law firm.
Ms. Dunn is a prominent Democratic lawyer, having overseen debate preparation for former Vice President Kamala Harris and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during their presidential campaigns. She has also been a key partner at Paul Weiss, representing Alphabet, Apple, Uber and Amazon.
Ms. Rhee served as a top prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller III’s special counsel investigation and oversaw the firm’s Washington office.
Mr. Isaacson is considered one of the country’s top antitrust lawyers. Ms. Phillips clerked for Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. of the Supreme Court.
“We were disappointed not to be able to tell each of you personally and individually the news that we have decided to leave Paul, Weiss to start a new law firm,” the lawyers said in an email to the firm late Friday afternoon.
Two other prominent lawyers at Paul Weiss — Jeh Johnson, a former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and Steven Banks, a leader of the firm’s pro bono practice — also announced recently that they were departing.
Since the firm’s chairman, Brad Karp, reached the deal with Mr. Trump in March, Paul Weiss has been widely criticized by its own associates, lawyers at other firms and Democrats for capitulating to the president. After Paul Weiss, eight other firms made similar deals.
Shortly after Mr. Trump signed an executive order that limited Paul Weiss lawyers’ ability to enter courthouses and represent their clients, Mr. Karp flew to Washington, went to the Oval Office and cut a deal with Mr. Trump.
The deal shocked many in the legal and political world because Mr. Karp has been a major fund-raiser for Democrats and he worked to rally to major law firms in “a call to arms” to oppose Mr. Trump during his first term.
In a statement on Friday, Mr. Karp said: “We are grateful to Bill, Jeannie, Jessica and Karen for their many contributions to the firm. We wish them well in their future endeavors.”
Ms. Dunn was supportive of the decision to strike a deal with Mr. Trump and was part of the firm’s leadership team that worked with Mr. Karp in getting other partners’ support, two people briefed on the matter said. .
Ms. Dunn, aided by Ms. Rhee and Mr. Isaacson, led Google’s trial defense last year in a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit over its advertising technology business. The judge overseeing the case ruled last month that Google had illegally monopolized parts of the industry, but dismissed a section of the government’s case.
This month, after Paul Weiss reached the deal with the Trump administration, Ms. Dunn and Ms. Rhee represented the company in court as the judge began the process of determining how to address the monopoly identified by her ruling.
A spokesman for Google declined to comment.
The partners leaving the firm did not address Paul Weiss deal with Mr. Trump in their email to their former colleagues.
“It has been an honor to work alongside such talented lawyers and to call so many of you our friends,” the lawyers wrote. “We hope to continue to collaborate with all of you in the years to come and are incredibly grateful for your warm and generous partnership.”
David McCabe contributed reporting.
Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations.
Jessica Silver-Greenberg is a Times investigative reporter writing about big business with a focus on health care. She has been a reporter for more than a decade.
Matthew Goldstein is a Times reporter who covers Wall Street and white-collar crime and housing issues.
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