Paul, Weiss joins the list of institutions and individuals with ample resources to defend themselves, who nevertheless have refused to stand up for justice in the face of MAGA intimidation
Anyone who cares about this issue should read about, respect and honor Rachel Cohen the embodiment of the Fearless Girl (which, coincidentally, also "needed" to be removed): https://democracychronicles.org/fearless-girl-statue/
Rachel Cohen, a 2022 graduate of Harvard Law School and former third-year associate at Skadden Arps, is awesome. She certainly foresaw how Skadden (and others in the legal community) would react, and she made an intelligent, courageous stand on principle that led by example and cost her quite a lot. The legal profession should do what it can to support her stand, even if they only dare to do so only from behind the scenes.
As David Lat (in Judicial Notice for Original Jurisdiction) put it, Ms. Cohen led the profession in integrity and courage:
putting together an open letter from Biglaw associates, which denounced the Trump administration’s “all-out attack aimed at dismantling rule-of-law norms.” As of last weekend’s Judicial Notice, the letter had 300 signatures from Biglaw associates; today, the number exceeds 1,350. She also penned an opinion piece for Law360, Firms Must Speak Up After Trump Orders: An Associate’s View, claiming that Trump’s attack on Biglaw has given risen to “the most urgent moment for the legal industry in our lifetimes. How we answer it will haunt us or be a point of pride. Let it be the latter.”
After news of the Paul Weiss deal broke, Cohen kicked it up a notch, in a firmwide email she sent to everyone at Skadden:
Please consider this email my two-week notice, revocable if the firm comes up with a satisfactory response to the current moment, which should include at minimum (i) signing on to the firm amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie in its litigation fighting the Trump administration’s executive order against it, (ii) committing to broad future representation, regardless of whether powerful people view it as adverse to them, (iii) refusal to cooperate with the EEOC’s request for personal information of our colleagues clearly targeted at intimidating non-white employees, (iv) public refusal to fire or otherwise force out employees at the Trump administration’s directive or implied directive and (v) public commitment to maintenance of affinity groups and related initiatives.
This is not what I saw for my career or for my evening, but Paul Weiss’ decision to cave to the Trump administration on DEI, representation and staffing has forced my hand. We do not have time. It is now or it is never, and if it is never, I will not continue to work here.
Mr. Jordan, thank you for sharing Rachel Cohen's story and her brave stance against cowardice and spinelessness. Her eloquent resignation letter shows that there are still people who choose integrity over expediency and who refuse to sacrifice their integrity in spite of the personal price it may cost her. Compared to the cowards at Paul Weiss, Ms. Cohen is a towering example of courage and fortitude. I hope that there are more like her who will not capitulate during this dangerous reign of terror.
I accidentally found this diatribe from an attorney online. I won't say who or how, in order to protect his/her safety.
From the Principles section (located in About the Firm on the Paul, Weiss website): "We refuse to be deterred by the unpopularity of a client or his cause from accepting a matter which justice and professional responsibility prompt us to take."
"We believe in maintaining, by affirmative efforts, a membership of partners and associates reflecting a wide variety of religious, political, ethnic and social backgrounds."
"We are committed to achieving our objectives without wearing any client's collar or political party's livery."
(Not on their website.) "According to the American Lawyer's 2024 top 200 ranking, Paul Weiss's 178 equity partners took home an average profit of $6,574,000.
"Many people targeted by Donald Trump have had to yield to his attacks because they didn't have a choice -- they don't have the money or status or power to fight back. But the owners make millions every year, and have caved in to Trump, which I consider a disgrace. I've heard Trump's attacks on Paul, Weiss described as "existential" -- and so they proved to be, but maybe not in the way intended. The firm could have stood by its principles and withstood the attacks, emerging less rich and less powerful, but with its values intact and the profession's admiration.
Instead, just one week after the attacks started, Paul Weiss paid a $40 million tribute, threw a former partner under the bus, and signed its name to a grotesque White House press release, incinerating its hard-won reputation as a proud and pioneering law firm. Now every other large US firm has a choice: Fight back against the greatest threat ever posed to American lawyers' independence and the rule of law, or follow Paul, Weiss's lead and make a deal with the devil...
Sadly, though, her firm was not the one that capitulated (although I wouldn't put it past Skadden) so I'm not sure if derailing her career was worth it. Let's see how her firm responds, but she'd have to be a pretty high rainmaker for them to even give a moment's notice to her demands.
I don't know if she derailed her career. She made a choice, it appears, that she can live with. I assume there will be a number who make a similar decision to leave Paul Weiss.
With the anticipated thousands [million+?]] of heroic protestors on April 5th here's an updated partial list of those fighting back every day [as of 3-23-25). I'm also adding courageous law firms who haven't caved. Besides upstanding lawyers, and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges (including James Boasberg, chief judge, D.C. District Ct.), here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin (again) with Missouri's own indomitable Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Gov. Tim walz, Sarah Inama, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Jasmine Crockett, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Stephanie Miller, Gov. Janet Mills, Gov. Beshear, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Dan Rather, Robert Reich, Steve Brodner, Brian TylerCohen, Jessica Craven, Scott Dworkin, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Rich wilson, Ron Filpkowski, Jeremy Seahill,Thom Hartmann, Jonathan Bernstein, Simon Rosenberg, Marianne Williamson, Mark Fiore, Jamie Raskin, Rebecca Solnit, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jim Hightower, Dan Pfeifer, Dean Obeidallah--
American Bar Association, Indivisible. MoveOn, DemCast, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Marc Elias/Democracy Docket, Public Citizen, Lambda Legal, CREW, CODEPINK, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE! (Latest addition h/t , Robert B. Hubbell: Law firms, see below)
* Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling have resisted Trump, fighting back with the help of other courageous firms like Williams & Connolly. Per The ABA Journal,
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, representing fired inspectors general. (Law.com)
Hogan Lovells, seeking to block executive orders to end federal funding for gender-affirming medical care. (Law.com)
Jenner & Block, also seeking to block the orders on cuts to medical research funding. (Law.com, Reuters)
Ropes & Gray, also seeking to block cuts to medical research funding. (Law.com)
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing the Amica Center for Immigrants Rights and others seeking to block funding cuts for immigrant legal services. (Law.com)
Folks - this is an All-Hands-on-Deck moment. Posting links to 'Hands Off' or the other relevant sites everywhere you post this week is really important to get the word out to people so they can show up.
Well, one of my senators did. Jim Banks is part of the MAGA-infested. I had hoped that Todd Young might have some ethical core to which we could appeal, but he has rolled over and done whatever Trump/Musk/Vance want.
Schumer, of course, is hopeless. Jeffries has not shown himself to be much better; the best we can hope for from Jeffries is radio silence. When he does speak up, we get something like this uninspiring comment: "I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have." Maybe he should have raised that question during a closed-door party or leadership meeting. He still seems to be thinking in terms of party politics rather than confronting an existential threat to American democracy. Bernie Sanders and AOC certainly haven't stumbled out of the gate. They're on the playing field raising hell while the Democratic leadership sits befuddled on the sidelines.
Heroes, one and all. As are the American adults with the physical and emotional ability to stand and walk (w/ or w/o assistance), who need to muster their courage and do the same on April 5th, wherever they can. HandsOff! needs to send a loud, clear message to Trump & Musk that even their GOP lapdogs will abandon them if they take a meat cleaver to the federal government services that work for all of us. (They're only with you for the $$s and the smart ones realize that they need votes more, and can find other ways to get their message to voters. Only stupid and/or lazy members of Congress will take (what's left of) Musk's fortune to run expensive ads telling lies to voters. That gig is over!)
And there are many more, thank god. We are stronger when inspired by people who are not afraid of making 'good trouble.' Every day I pray for the strength to avoid collapse and, in whatever ways are open to me, do the same.
I'd add Judge Crawford of WI, Kara Swisher, Rep Al Green, Pete Buttigieg, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse, Michael McFaul, Sherrilyn Ifill, Nikki Fried, Maya Wiley, Alicia Menendez, Andrew Weissman, Alexander Vindman, Eric Holder, Dahlia Withwick, Rick Wilson, Denver Riggleman, The Bulwark, Huffpost, Olivia Troye, Mehdi Hasan, Mark Cuban, Harry Littman, Barb McQuade, George Conway, The Lincoln Project, Jen Psaki, The woman who hosts "Deadline Whitehouse" (I'm old and right now I can't remember her name),
So glad to see Arnold & Porter on this list. They have been stalwarts in legal fights the League of Women Voters and ACLU have taken on here in PA over the years against state government overreach and voter suppression.
I'd recommend that you watch videos of AOC and Bernie Sander's Fighting Oligarchy Tour. I've been sickened by the news for months. And, watching them is uplifting, and motivational! People love love them!
I am very heartening to hear of Arnold and Porter's stance. I got started in my current line of work there (I am not an attorney). I'll circulate it far and wide when I have (expected, good) news from my current place. This affects us all, and this (expected) news will come from a seat very close to the field.
I can't imagine having Paul Weiss defend me if they won't defend themselves. As for Schumer...he's gotta go. tRump only respects people who fight back. He rolls over weak people like Schumer.
Having recently retired after a 40-year career at large law firms, I found the Paul Weiss collapse in the face of Trump's absurd and illegal EO appalling. The ability and willingness of such firms to take on difficult matters is their reason for being. That Paul Weiss folded in the face of a bogus legal challenge--even after other similarly situated firms successfully defended themselves--is a damning indictment of the firm. It is so far outside the appropriate response to such an attack as to raise questions about the continued viability of the organization. Were I a promising law student looking for a job, this action would cause me to look elsewhere. Were I a client, this action would cause me to question whether my lawyers had what it takes to zealously and effectively represent me. Were I a partner at the firm, I would have to seriously consider finding another professional home before my own reputation was diminished. Were I a lender to or landlord for the firm, this action would suggest I needed additional protections to make sure the firm didn't walk away from its other commitments. There are heroes and goats in every struggle. Sadly, Paul Weiss has embraced the latter role.
Thank you for your point of view. What I truly don't understand, and perhaps you can explain it, is this: Why didn't Chairman Brad Karp, call the principals of the biggest, most prestigious, and most powerful law firms in the country, and fight back as a group?
Instead, not only did he cave, but for a "ferocious litigator," he seems to have made the worst possible deal. As a layperson, who knows nothing about the law, the way I see it is that Karp has given up all of his principals and the firm's, and has opened a new revenue stream for Trump, which encompasses money and the firm's most invaluable assets: Their lawyers, reputation, and connections. And he has now has set this as the precedent for every other firm in the country.
Karp's rationale was that the corporate side, which generates the most income, was afraid of losing clients. And, even if Paul, Weiss won in court, they couldn't "erase the suit," or something like that, and their clients would know they were persona non grata at the White House. But, wouldn't that be a moot point if they stopped the bully in his tracks?
Guilt is not proved by association. Some of us have MAGA-infested relatives. I think that we should not condemn Schumer for his brother's choices--as the article also states we should not--but I agree that Schumer needs to speak on this issue.
If you're referring to preventing a shutdown, consider that many like our federal worker household considered that the wise decision. In the face of complete uncertainty regarding Musk and Trump, we could not count on the government ever reopening or our jobs ever being restored--let alone the backpay. I easily saw a scenario in which they found a shutdown the convenient way to dismantle the administrative state permanently.
They plan to dismantle the administrative state regardless. It's just a question of how quickly they accomplish it. It's horrible for all the workers like yourself who are in limbo and never know when the axe will fall. But Schumer should know from history that you can't appease a dictator. It has never worked. He needed to fight, not cave in.
He fought for us, is what I'm saying. We're not privileged people. We work for a living. And Chuck Schumer cannot read the future. So for now, I appreciate his measured decision. Do you know how many shutdown threats we've been through? It was a blessing. We're in this together for sure, though. Best wishes, friend.
Here's what I don't get about the DEI backlash: where is the proof that it harms rather than helps our society and the economy?
My friend's husband is the chief of our local fire department. He actively advertises openings in Hispanic communities, as well as in white ones.
So here's the catch: EVERY firefighter candidate must pass a robust series of physical, academic, and psychological tests before being considered for employment.
How would a person who passes all of those tests, AND is bilingual, not be an asset to the fire department?
Can someone ask the fascist felon this question?
Too many people seem willing to believe the assumption that in a meritocracy, only white males will get good-paying jobs, while everyone else is "sub-standard".
The rejoinder, indeed. None of it makes a lick of sense, and almost none of it is true. The same is true for our military, for other professions.
What they spout is mealy-mouthed bullshit and racism designed to protect their tender little snowflake feelings about the real world. These people have self-deported to the Kingdom of Miasma, where sorry little wimps find excuses galore for their own failures.
Personally, as an old white man, I have no interest in working alongside sniveling, whiny-butt younger white "bros" who can't keep up with motivated, competent women and minorities. I have no patience for their excuses for themselves. I find diversity, equality and inclusion energizing, and am not threatened by it.
Living in a community that is 80+% Hispanic, hiring Hispanics is hardly DEI. They are the backbone of our community and they do a good job wherever they are. It is a novel experience for me, living in a city where it doesn't matter what your skin color or heritage is. Here, if you're good, you get the job.
It's a mountain..but the valley is flooded and toxic ..upward is the only direction left ...and the right one. Even baby steps gets you to the top of the mountain, if you JUST KEEP CLIMBING :)
Oh my word. I knew about the law firm and that's a disgrace, but I can't believe about Senator Schumer's brother. I'm curious with his recent support of the budget, which side is he on?? It begs the question.
Again I respond that Chuck Schumer had many considerations to take into account during the shutdown, not the least of which was the end of his job and all of Congress. What would stop Trump and Musk from permanently shuttering government following a shutdown? Meaning that every Congressional rep would be out of work too. Permanently. Please don't attribute malice to every decision that you don't like. I didn't like it either, but I saw no other choice for him--and for us federal worker households.
Yes. And why isn't he doing that? Now there's an answer we need to hear. I'm guessing it's because it is the lording it over people and scaring them to death that is actually more fun than moving on. So, I do believe they are weak chickenshits. Sure, they might and maybe will get there, but it will be the people manipulating them, not the world's biggest boaster who never follows through on his own.
Where is the American Bar Asociation not only on Paul, Weiss but for on all the lawyers, including the AG Bodi and others in the Trump adminiswtration who are telling untruths in court and filing frivilous law suits?
Craven cowardice. How can our protests (like planned for April 5th) have any effect when these mega-corporations/law firms/universities won’t support us against this disgusting administration? Add them to the list of Deplorables!
It seems to me this moment was both predictable --- and predicted -- long ago.
Most of us simply do not understand how dictatorship works. Once in a while, the ruling junta deploys force to quell the opposition, but that's generally too difficult, too cumbersome, too costly (remember how lazy most authoritarian states are once they come to power). Mostly, they just get other people to do their dirty work for them.
The Nazis were a small clique of nutballs, yet somehow they got people all over Europe to form fascist parties and 'people's groups', turn in Jews to the authorities, surrender power and accommodate the Third Reich in countless ways, small and large. We are simply seeing the same thing happen here in real time. Law firms quietly chicken out, Mayor Bowser in Washington paints Black Lives Matter Plaza over, Columbia University says ok, we'll change our DEI stance, but mostly it's treasonous Republican Senators and Congresscritters WHO KNOW BETTER turn the other way as he shits all over the Constitution with his lil' bro bud from Tesla.
And please don't put Chuck Schumer in this category. He is not the one "'accommodating" and not fighting back --- Republicans are. He was literally trying to stop something even worse from happening. He could have handled the PR a lot better, that's for sure, but it's not a matter of him 'not fighting back.' A shutdown under these monsters would have been calamitous. Talk about no guardrails, no legal injunctions, no NOTHING. He did what he did to stop them from totally stopping Medicare, Veterans Services, Social Security -- even as they are all still under attack.
This is really bad, people. We need energy, but we also need smarts. We can't afford to start eating our own or summoning circular firing squads. We need votes. We need resisters, but we also need alchemists who can convert red to blue in critical purple areas. If we don't figure out how to do this intelligently, we're screwed.
Anyone who cares about this issue should read about, respect and honor Rachel Cohen the embodiment of the Fearless Girl (which, coincidentally, also "needed" to be removed): https://democracychronicles.org/fearless-girl-statue/
Rachel Cohen, a 2022 graduate of Harvard Law School and former third-year associate at Skadden Arps, is awesome. She certainly foresaw how Skadden (and others in the legal community) would react, and she made an intelligent, courageous stand on principle that led by example and cost her quite a lot. The legal profession should do what it can to support her stand, even if they only dare to do so only from behind the scenes.
As David Lat (in Judicial Notice for Original Jurisdiction) put it, Ms. Cohen led the profession in integrity and courage:
putting together an open letter from Biglaw associates, which denounced the Trump administration’s “all-out attack aimed at dismantling rule-of-law norms.” As of last weekend’s Judicial Notice, the letter had 300 signatures from Biglaw associates; today, the number exceeds 1,350. She also penned an opinion piece for Law360, Firms Must Speak Up After Trump Orders: An Associate’s View, claiming that Trump’s attack on Biglaw has given risen to “the most urgent moment for the legal industry in our lifetimes. How we answer it will haunt us or be a point of pride. Let it be the latter.”
After news of the Paul Weiss deal broke, Cohen kicked it up a notch, in a firmwide email she sent to everyone at Skadden:
Please consider this email my two-week notice, revocable if the firm comes up with a satisfactory response to the current moment, which should include at minimum (i) signing on to the firm amicus brief in support of Perkins Coie in its litigation fighting the Trump administration’s executive order against it, (ii) committing to broad future representation, regardless of whether powerful people view it as adverse to them, (iii) refusal to cooperate with the EEOC’s request for personal information of our colleagues clearly targeted at intimidating non-white employees, (iv) public refusal to fire or otherwise force out employees at the Trump administration’s directive or implied directive and (v) public commitment to maintenance of affinity groups and related initiatives.
This is not what I saw for my career or for my evening, but Paul Weiss’ decision to cave to the Trump administration on DEI, representation and staffing has forced my hand. We do not have time. It is now or it is never, and if it is never, I will not continue to work here.
Mr. Jordan, thank you for sharing Rachel Cohen's story and her brave stance against cowardice and spinelessness. Her eloquent resignation letter shows that there are still people who choose integrity over expediency and who refuse to sacrifice their integrity in spite of the personal price it may cost her. Compared to the cowards at Paul Weiss, Ms. Cohen is a towering example of courage and fortitude. I hope that there are more like her who will not capitulate during this dangerous reign of terror.
Always seems to need a woman to stand up and fight. I guess we have lots of practice.
Men have an extremely irritating (and often catastrophic) propensity to think with their glands.
Yes, they tend to get the vapors when confronted. Perhaps they need to think about "hyster" ectomies--er, mister-ectomies?
This is a kind of action we need to see from attorneys and judges throughout the country. Stands like this will make a difference.
I accidentally found this diatribe from an attorney online. I won't say who or how, in order to protect his/her safety.
From the Principles section (located in About the Firm on the Paul, Weiss website): "We refuse to be deterred by the unpopularity of a client or his cause from accepting a matter which justice and professional responsibility prompt us to take."
"We believe in maintaining, by affirmative efforts, a membership of partners and associates reflecting a wide variety of religious, political, ethnic and social backgrounds."
"We are committed to achieving our objectives without wearing any client's collar or political party's livery."
(Not on their website.) "According to the American Lawyer's 2024 top 200 ranking, Paul Weiss's 178 equity partners took home an average profit of $6,574,000.
"Many people targeted by Donald Trump have had to yield to his attacks because they didn't have a choice -- they don't have the money or status or power to fight back. But the owners make millions every year, and have caved in to Trump, which I consider a disgrace. I've heard Trump's attacks on Paul, Weiss described as "existential" -- and so they proved to be, but maybe not in the way intended. The firm could have stood by its principles and withstood the attacks, emerging less rich and less powerful, but with its values intact and the profession's admiration.
Instead, just one week after the attacks started, Paul Weiss paid a $40 million tribute, threw a former partner under the bus, and signed its name to a grotesque White House press release, incinerating its hard-won reputation as a proud and pioneering law firm. Now every other large US firm has a choice: Fight back against the greatest threat ever posed to American lawyers' independence and the rule of law, or follow Paul, Weiss's lead and make a deal with the devil...
So....how many Congressional Republicans agree?
Somebody needs to ask them. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2025/02/republicans-dictator-putin-ukraine/681841/
We need even more heroes like this in the legal profession.
Yes, that's why Jen interviewed Rachel this morning for The Contrarian. We highly recommend watching it! Thanks
Here's the link! What wonderful women! https://contrarian.substack.com/p/jen-rubin-and-rachel-cohen-discuss?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Wow - a hero indeed!
I'll start reading and following her.
It's very useful to see actual names. Thank you.
Sadly, though, her firm was not the one that capitulated (although I wouldn't put it past Skadden) so I'm not sure if derailing her career was worth it. Let's see how her firm responds, but she'd have to be a pretty high rainmaker for them to even give a moment's notice to her demands.
I don't know if she derailed her career. She made a choice, it appears, that she can live with. I assume there will be a number who make a similar decision to leave Paul Weiss.
The powers that be at Skadden already responded. They pushed her out immediately.
With the anticipated thousands [million+?]] of heroic protestors on April 5th here's an updated partial list of those fighting back every day [as of 3-23-25). I'm also adding courageous law firms who haven't caved. Besides upstanding lawyers, and law-abiding honorable (present and former) judges (including James Boasberg, chief judge, D.C. District Ct.), here's a growing list of Profiles in Courage men, women, and advocacy groups who refuse to be cowed or kneel to the force of Trump/Musk/MAGA/Fox "News" intimidation:
I'll begin (again) with Missouri's own indomitable Jess[ica] (à la John Lewis's "get in good trouble") Piper, then, in no particular order, Heather Cox Richardson, Joyce Vance, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Gov. Tim walz, Sarah Inama, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Jasmine Crockett, Ruth Ben-Ghait, Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell, Chris Hayes, Stephanie Miller, Gov. Janet Mills, Gov. Beshear, Jim Acosta, Jen Rubin And the Contrarians, Dan Rather, Robert Reich, Steve Brodner, Brian TylerCohen, Jessica Craven, Scott Dworkin, Annne Applebaum, Lucian Truscott IV, Chris Murphy, Jeff Merkley, Elizabeth Warren, Tim Snyder, Robert B. Hubbell, Ben Meiseilas, Rich wilson, Ron Filpkowski, Jeremy Seahill,Thom Hartmann, Jonathan Bernstein, Simon Rosenberg, Marianne Williamson, Mark Fiore, Jamie Raskin, Rebecca Solnit, Steve Schmidt, Josh Marshall, Paul Krugman, Andy Borowitz, Jeff Danziger, Ann Telnaes,͏ ͏Will Bunch, Jim Hightower, Dan Pfeifer, Dean Obeidallah--
American Bar Association, Indivisible. MoveOn, DemCast, Blue Missouri, Third Act, Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, Democracy Index, Marc Elias/Democracy Docket, Public Citizen, Lambda Legal, CREW, CODEPINK, ACLU et al. And, as Joyce Vance says, "We're in this together"--or via Jess Piper, from rural Missouri: "Solidarity." FIGHT BACK! WE ARE NOT ALONE! (Latest addition h/t , Robert B. Hubbell: Law firms, see below)
* Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling have resisted Trump, fighting back with the help of other courageous firms like Williams & Connolly. Per The ABA Journal,
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, representing fired inspectors general. (Law.com)
Hogan Lovells, seeking to block executive orders to end federal funding for gender-affirming medical care. (Law.com)
Jenner & Block, also seeking to block the orders on cuts to medical research funding. (Law.com, Reuters)
Ropes & Gray, also seeking to block cuts to medical research funding. (Law.com)
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, representing the Amica Center for Immigrants Rights and others seeking to block funding cuts for immigrant legal services. (Law.com)
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.
Folks - this is an All-Hands-on-Deck moment. Posting links to 'Hands Off' or the other relevant sites everywhere you post this week is really important to get the word out to people so they can show up.
https://handsoff2025.com/about
Absolutely. Just did that yesterday to my Facebook page.
Trump's downfall is that many Congressional Republicans did not sign up to be members of the axis of evil. Pressure them.
Call. Write. Picket. Sit in.
https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
Well, one of my senators did. Jim Banks is part of the MAGA-infested. I had hoped that Todd Young might have some ethical core to which we could appeal, but he has rolled over and done whatever Trump/Musk/Vance want.
If big employers, like the automotive industry, offended by the Trump;/Tesla infomercial speaks up, they will listen.
We have heard nothing from the automotive industry about the Tesla commercial, and we won't. They can easily ride the wave of Tesla's unpopularity.
I'm not sure what it would take to get Young's attention, but perhaps when the farmers realize the depth of Trump's betrayal, that will be a start.
They might not have signed up, but their acquiescence to Trump-Musk tells us they don't have a commitment to the rule of law.
Several of them object re national security. We only need 3 House members to trigger it.
I don't think many of them will discuss it publicly.
I would hpe that behind the scenes Jeffries is dealing.
Put it's up to us to apply pressure.
Schumer, of course, is hopeless. Jeffries has not shown himself to be much better; the best we can hope for from Jeffries is radio silence. When he does speak up, we get something like this uninspiring comment: "I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have." Maybe he should have raised that question during a closed-door party or leadership meeting. He still seems to be thinking in terms of party politics rather than confronting an existential threat to American democracy. Bernie Sanders and AOC certainly haven't stumbled out of the gate. They're on the playing field raising hell while the Democratic leadership sits befuddled on the sidelines.
If there isn't a Hands Off! protest near you on April 5, create one! A great toolkit for making a protest happen is at handsoff2025.com. Onward!
Heroes, one and all. As are the American adults with the physical and emotional ability to stand and walk (w/ or w/o assistance), who need to muster their courage and do the same on April 5th, wherever they can. HandsOff! needs to send a loud, clear message to Trump & Musk that even their GOP lapdogs will abandon them if they take a meat cleaver to the federal government services that work for all of us. (They're only with you for the $$s and the smart ones realize that they need votes more, and can find other ways to get their message to voters. Only stupid and/or lazy members of Congress will take (what's left of) Musk's fortune to run expensive ads telling lies to voters. That gig is over!)
And there are many more, thank god. We are stronger when inspired by people who are not afraid of making 'good trouble.' Every day I pray for the strength to avoid collapse and, in whatever ways are open to me, do the same.
I'd add Judge Crawford of WI, Kara Swisher, Rep Al Green, Pete Buttigieg, Sen Sheldon Whitehouse, Michael McFaul, Sherrilyn Ifill, Nikki Fried, Maya Wiley, Alicia Menendez, Andrew Weissman, Alexander Vindman, Eric Holder, Dahlia Withwick, Rick Wilson, Denver Riggleman, The Bulwark, Huffpost, Olivia Troye, Mehdi Hasan, Mark Cuban, Harry Littman, Barb McQuade, George Conway, The Lincoln Project, Jen Psaki, The woman who hosts "Deadline Whitehouse" (I'm old and right now I can't remember her name),
Nicole Wallace!
So glad to see Arnold & Porter on this list. They have been stalwarts in legal fights the League of Women Voters and ACLU have taken on here in PA over the years against state government overreach and voter suppression.
That makes me feel better. Was sickened at the news.
I'd recommend that you watch videos of AOC and Bernie Sander's Fighting Oligarchy Tour. I've been sickened by the news for months. And, watching them is uplifting, and motivational! People love love them!
Good and useful to see a list of names.
I am very heartening to hear of Arnold and Porter's stance. I got started in my current line of work there (I am not an attorney). I'll circulate it far and wide when I have (expected, good) news from my current place. This affects us all, and this (expected) news will come from a seat very close to the field.
*heartened*
I can't imagine having Paul Weiss defend me if they won't defend themselves. As for Schumer...he's gotta go. tRump only respects people who fight back. He rolls over weak people like Schumer.
Schumer needs to book a permanent book tour and follow that schedule to the tee.
Having recently retired after a 40-year career at large law firms, I found the Paul Weiss collapse in the face of Trump's absurd and illegal EO appalling. The ability and willingness of such firms to take on difficult matters is their reason for being. That Paul Weiss folded in the face of a bogus legal challenge--even after other similarly situated firms successfully defended themselves--is a damning indictment of the firm. It is so far outside the appropriate response to such an attack as to raise questions about the continued viability of the organization. Were I a promising law student looking for a job, this action would cause me to look elsewhere. Were I a client, this action would cause me to question whether my lawyers had what it takes to zealously and effectively represent me. Were I a partner at the firm, I would have to seriously consider finding another professional home before my own reputation was diminished. Were I a lender to or landlord for the firm, this action would suggest I needed additional protections to make sure the firm didn't walk away from its other commitments. There are heroes and goats in every struggle. Sadly, Paul Weiss has embraced the latter role.
Thank you for your point of view. What I truly don't understand, and perhaps you can explain it, is this: Why didn't Chairman Brad Karp, call the principals of the biggest, most prestigious, and most powerful law firms in the country, and fight back as a group?
Instead, not only did he cave, but for a "ferocious litigator," he seems to have made the worst possible deal. As a layperson, who knows nothing about the law, the way I see it is that Karp has given up all of his principals and the firm's, and has opened a new revenue stream for Trump, which encompasses money and the firm's most invaluable assets: Their lawyers, reputation, and connections. And he has now has set this as the precedent for every other firm in the country.
Karp's rationale was that the corporate side, which generates the most income, was afraid of losing clients. And, even if Paul, Weiss won in court, they couldn't "erase the suit," or something like that, and their clients would know they were persona non grata at the White House. But, wouldn't that be a moot point if they stopped the bully in his tracks?
Thank you for bringing the Schumer connection to light. He definitely needs to be removed from leadership.
Guilt is not proved by association. Some of us have MAGA-infested relatives. I think that we should not condemn Schumer for his brother's choices--as the article also states we should not--but I agree that Schumer needs to speak on this issue.
His brother is not the reason he needs to be removed from leadership. There are plenty of reasons that are all due to his actions and inactions.
If you're referring to preventing a shutdown, consider that many like our federal worker household considered that the wise decision. In the face of complete uncertainty regarding Musk and Trump, we could not count on the government ever reopening or our jobs ever being restored--let alone the backpay. I easily saw a scenario in which they found a shutdown the convenient way to dismantle the administrative state permanently.
They plan to dismantle the administrative state regardless. It's just a question of how quickly they accomplish it. It's horrible for all the workers like yourself who are in limbo and never know when the axe will fall. But Schumer should know from history that you can't appease a dictator. It has never worked. He needed to fight, not cave in.
He fought for us, is what I'm saying. We're not privileged people. We work for a living. And Chuck Schumer cannot read the future. So for now, I appreciate his measured decision. Do you know how many shutdown threats we've been through? It was a blessing. We're in this together for sure, though. Best wishes, friend.
Well, John, you did make that connection to his brother in your comment, so I responded to that.
Disgraceful. Thank you to Judge Boasberg, Rachel Cohen and all those who continue to fight for the soul of our country
Here's what I don't get about the DEI backlash: where is the proof that it harms rather than helps our society and the economy?
My friend's husband is the chief of our local fire department. He actively advertises openings in Hispanic communities, as well as in white ones.
So here's the catch: EVERY firefighter candidate must pass a robust series of physical, academic, and psychological tests before being considered for employment.
How would a person who passes all of those tests, AND is bilingual, not be an asset to the fire department?
Can someone ask the fascist felon this question?
Too many people seem willing to believe the assumption that in a meritocracy, only white males will get good-paying jobs, while everyone else is "sub-standard".
The rejoinder, indeed. None of it makes a lick of sense, and almost none of it is true. The same is true for our military, for other professions.
What they spout is mealy-mouthed bullshit and racism designed to protect their tender little snowflake feelings about the real world. These people have self-deported to the Kingdom of Miasma, where sorry little wimps find excuses galore for their own failures.
Personally, as an old white man, I have no interest in working alongside sniveling, whiny-butt younger white "bros" who can't keep up with motivated, competent women and minorities. I have no patience for their excuses for themselves. I find diversity, equality and inclusion energizing, and am not threatened by it.
It's all untrue, not "almost none of it. . . ."
Living in a community that is 80+% Hispanic, hiring Hispanics is hardly DEI. They are the backbone of our community and they do a good job wherever they are. It is a novel experience for me, living in a city where it doesn't matter what your skin color or heritage is. Here, if you're good, you get the job.
I find it difficult to believe that anyone would question whether or not we're in a Constitutional crisis. of course we are!
It's a mountain..but the valley is flooded and toxic ..upward is the only direction left ...and the right one. Even baby steps gets you to the top of the mountain, if you JUST KEEP CLIMBING :)
Looking for the best way to describe Paul, Weiss Law Firm: Cowards? Collaborators? Profiteers? All of the above.
Oh my word. I knew about the law firm and that's a disgrace, but I can't believe about Senator Schumer's brother. I'm curious with his recent support of the budget, which side is he on?? It begs the question.
Schumer is on Schumer's side. Not ours.
Again I respond that Chuck Schumer had many considerations to take into account during the shutdown, not the least of which was the end of his job and all of Congress. What would stop Trump and Musk from permanently shuttering government following a shutdown? Meaning that every Congressional rep would be out of work too. Permanently. Please don't attribute malice to every decision that you don't like. I didn't like it either, but I saw no other choice for him--and for us federal worker households.
It's not malice. It is just self interest. With the power PINO has been given he can permanently shut down everything today.
Yes. And why isn't he doing that? Now there's an answer we need to hear. I'm guessing it's because it is the lording it over people and scaring them to death that is actually more fun than moving on. So, I do believe they are weak chickenshits. Sure, they might and maybe will get there, but it will be the people manipulating them, not the world's biggest boaster who never follows through on his own.
Where is the American Bar Asociation not only on Paul, Weiss but for on all the lawyers, including the AG Bodi and others in the Trump adminiswtration who are telling untruths in court and filing frivilous law suits?
Clearly our next Contrarian "more accurate term" should be Paul Wuss when referring to Paul Weiss. ☺️
What doth it profit a man to gain the whole world if in the process he loses the fortitude of soul that made him a man.
Craven cowardice. How can our protests (like planned for April 5th) have any effect when these mega-corporations/law firms/universities won’t support us against this disgusting administration? Add them to the list of Deplorables!
It seems to me this moment was both predictable --- and predicted -- long ago.
Most of us simply do not understand how dictatorship works. Once in a while, the ruling junta deploys force to quell the opposition, but that's generally too difficult, too cumbersome, too costly (remember how lazy most authoritarian states are once they come to power). Mostly, they just get other people to do their dirty work for them.
The Nazis were a small clique of nutballs, yet somehow they got people all over Europe to form fascist parties and 'people's groups', turn in Jews to the authorities, surrender power and accommodate the Third Reich in countless ways, small and large. We are simply seeing the same thing happen here in real time. Law firms quietly chicken out, Mayor Bowser in Washington paints Black Lives Matter Plaza over, Columbia University says ok, we'll change our DEI stance, but mostly it's treasonous Republican Senators and Congresscritters WHO KNOW BETTER turn the other way as he shits all over the Constitution with his lil' bro bud from Tesla.
And please don't put Chuck Schumer in this category. He is not the one "'accommodating" and not fighting back --- Republicans are. He was literally trying to stop something even worse from happening. He could have handled the PR a lot better, that's for sure, but it's not a matter of him 'not fighting back.' A shutdown under these monsters would have been calamitous. Talk about no guardrails, no legal injunctions, no NOTHING. He did what he did to stop them from totally stopping Medicare, Veterans Services, Social Security -- even as they are all still under attack.
This is really bad, people. We need energy, but we also need smarts. We can't afford to start eating our own or summoning circular firing squads. We need votes. We need resisters, but we also need alchemists who can convert red to blue in critical purple areas. If we don't figure out how to do this intelligently, we're screwed.