Big Law Firms That Caved to Trump Lost Everything They Tried to Protect

One year ago, Donald Trump issued executive orders designed to punish law firms that represented clients or causes he didn't like. The goal was simple: chill the legal profession into submission through threats of retaliation.

Nine of the country's biggest firms -- including Wall Street powerhouse Paul Weiss -- immediately folded. They agreed to provide the administration with nearly $1 billion in free legal assistance in exchange for an unenforceable promise that Trump wouldn't issue further punitive orders against them.

Four firms chose to fight instead: Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, and Susman Godfrey. They sued, arguing the orders violated their First Amendment right to advocate for clients and causes of their choosing.

They won. Federal district courts ruled unanimously that Trump's executive orders were unconstitutional.

The Firms That Surrendered Are Still Losing

The capitulation strategy didn't work. The nine firms that caved -- A&O Shearman, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins, Milbank, Paul Weiss, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Skadden, and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher -- have suffered lasting damage.

They've lost partners. They've lost clients. They remain legally bound by deals that require them to provide free legal work to an administration that targeted them for exercising their constitutional rights.

Meanwhile, every firm that stood up to Trump has posted increased profits per partner in 2025 compared to 2024.

The reputational damage to the firms that surrendered could hurt their ability to recruit young lawyers and clients for years. Former Biden adviser Neera Tanden said one firm's actions would "live in infamy."

Trump's Legal Whiplash Reveals the Con

The Department of Justice initially told the DC Circuit Court of Appeals it would abandon its appeal of the district court rulings. Then, one day later, it reversed course and announced it would pursue the appeal after all.

The about-face was transparent and inexplicable -- unless you understand the leverage game Trump is playing.

If the appeal is abandoned and the district court rulings stand, the deals with the nine firms become legally invalid and unenforceable. The hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal assistance disappears.

By keeping the appeal alive, Trump can continue to coerce Big Law into representing him and his causes -- at least until the Supreme Court weighs in. The administration knows it has little chance of winning on the merits. This is about maintaining control, not legal victory.

The Strategic Failure That Broke Big Law

The legal profession's response to Trump's assault reveals a catastrophic failure of collective action. Individually, these firms are vulnerable. Together, they have enormous power.

Had the firms stuck together and refused to negotiate separately, Trump's early efforts to coerce a critical pillar of democracy could have been thwarted. Instead, Paul Weiss managing partner Brad Karp met with Trump in person to hammer out a deal he hoped would preserve the firm's $7.5 million per-partner profitability.

Other firms followed suit, figuring that if Paul Weiss couldn't stand up to Trump, neither could they. Many stayed quiet, hoping not to become the next target.

Civil rights lawyer John Relman, who spent nearly 40 years working with these firms, tried to rally opposition after the Paul Weiss agreement. He was met with "surprising equivocation" and little commitment to resist an unconstitutional assault on the legal profession.

The Playbook Spread Beyond Big Law

Trump came after the legal profession first for a reason. Without lawyers, other powerful institutions are defenseless.

Big Law's failure to stand together gave the White House an opening to push ahead with efforts to coerce universities. Columbia, Brown, University of Virginia, and Harvard all faced threats of punitive action. Most followed Big Law's playbook, trying to cut individual deals.

Only Harvard fought back in court. Like the law firms that stood up, it's winning.

The Lesson: Authoritarians Can Be Defeated

For anyone currently in Trump's crosshairs, the lesson is clear. The firms that made the decision to fight -- not fold -- are thriving. They're more profitable. They've preserved their reputations. They've defended the rule of law.

As District Judge Beryl Howell put it, they "will be the models lauded when this period of American history is written."

The firms that surrendered sent a message to ordinary citizens: when the going gets tough, elite lawyers look after themselves first and everything else second. They inflicted permanent damage not just on themselves, but on the legal profession as a whole.

Trump's strategy of targeting institutions one by one only works if those institutions fail to stick together. The firms that fought back proved that an authoritarian can be defeated -- if you have the conviction to persevere.