The Law Firm That's Defying Trump on DEI Recruitment

Dozens of law firms have sought to de-emphasize, or outright kill, their diversity initiatives since the Supreme Court's 2023 affirmative action decision—and especially since Donald Trump retook office this year and started issuing punitive executive orders that mention them. However, one firm is now doing the opposite. Susman Godfrey announced last week it would expand its annual prize awarded to law students of color, even though this program was specifically called out by Trump in his executive order targeting the firm. Bloomberg Law reporter Tatyana Monnay wrote about the firm's move and why it was taking this step now. She joins our podcast, On The Merits, to talk about what Susman Godfrey did and why its confidence may have been boosted by a federal judge's chilly reaction to Justice Department arguments against the firm. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

We're starting to see the impact of a string of deals reached over the last two months between President Donald Trump and top law firms. Some firms appear to be moving on—and even thriving—after pledging hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal services on causes backed by the White House to avoid punitive executive orders like those Trump has lobbed at others. At least three firms that made deals are primed to cash in on Saudi Arabia's plan to invest $1 trillion in the US, thanks to their ties to a leading sovereign wealth fund: Latham & Watkins, A&O Sherman, and Kirkland & Ellis. Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, meanwhile, is seeing the downside of doing a deal with Trump. A string of partners have headed for the exit since the firm's agreement with Trump was announced, including some who left because of their opposition to the deal. Justin Henry joins fellow Bloomberg Law reporter Roy Strom on this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, to talk about these two developments and about why it's still too soon to say whether law firms that acquiesced to the president made the right move. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The Trump administration's attacks on law firms are having ripple effects on the general counsel whose companies employ those firms. Top attorneys at many large companies may be considering whether to switch the firms they use as outside counsel, according to Bloomberg Law reporter Brian Baxter. In some cases, GCs don't want to work with a firm that's under attack from President Donald Trump; in other cases, they may feel uncomfortable that the firm struck a deal with the White House. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens speaks with Baxter about what GCs are telling him and why they may be ready for a change. Kamens also speaks with Sara Kropf, partner at the firm Kropf Moseley Schmitt, about which types of companies are most likely to want to switch firms and why actually doing this is much harder than it seems. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Shortly after law firms started striking deals for free legal services with the White House, Bloomberg Law reporter Meghan Tribe appeared on our podcast, On The Merits, to talk about how much ambiguity there was around what the firms were agreeing to and how these agreements would be enforced. Now, Tribe and her colleague Brian Baxter have seen a copy of one of these deals but many unanswered questions remain. However, we do have more concrete insight into the separate deals firms struck with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Tribe rejoins the On The Merits podcast to talk about what she uncovered and about the details of the EEOC deals. She also discusses whether the firms that struck deals may have made a mistake, or whether it's too soon to say. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

The legal industry is in a state of tremendous flux after just 100 days of the second Trump administration, with the biggest law firms in the country under attack and the Department of Justice's independence in question. Three Bloomberg Law reporters covering three different beats teamed up to write a story chronicling everything that's been happening in the legal world since Donald Trump retook office earlier this year and where we might be heading in the months to come. Those three reporters—Roy Strom, Justin Wise, and Suzanne Monyak—join our podcast, On The Merits, to talk about what they learned in their reporting and why it took all of them to tell this story. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Many students at elite law schools end up working in Big Law for at least a spell. The Trump administration's attacks on the industry, and deals with some of its top players, are making the choice of where to start their careers much more complicated. Students are stuck between two very uncertain options: go to a firm that struck a deal with the White House, despite concerns about a lack of principles; or, go to a firm that's fighting Trump in court, despite concerns about the firm remaining financial stable. Bloomberg News reporter Claire Ballentine wrote about how students are making these tough choices and she speaks with Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens on this episode of our podcast, On The Merits. Ballentine talks about how some law students are organizing to help each other make a decision and how the massive debt loads many of them shoulder are factoring in. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Judge James Boasberg began the process of holding Trump administration officials in contempt of court last week as he struggles to get them to follow his orders around the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members. That contempt process was halted a few days later by an appellate court, but Boasberg's actions raised questions about how it might play out if he or another federal judge did eventually fine or attempt to jail recalcitrant executive branch officials. Could Justice Department lawyers get arrested? Would the U.S. Marshals Service be arresting them? And what if the president orders it not to? On today's episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Rutgers University law professor David Noll walks us through how these contempt proceedings might work and what the personal consequences would be for Justice Department lawyers caught up in an escalating standoff. Noll also talks about how judges may be able to get around a President who orders US Marshals to stand down: deputizing local police officers. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Like a run on a bank, law firms can quickly collapse if a few rainmakers pick up and take their books of business elsewhere—a vicious cycle that's hard to stop once it gets going. That's the takeaway from a law review article by Yale professor John Morley. He says a partner exodus can happen quickly because there's a huge financial incentive not to be one of the last partners remaining at a firm. That dynamic is on many partners' minds right now as they debate whether to fight the White House's punitive executive orders. For this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Morley spoke with Bloomberg Law reporter Roy Strom about how these so-called "runs on the partnership" can play out and about which types of firms are the most vulnerable to a catastrophic implosion. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

Law firms are striking deals with President Trump to avoid getting hit with a punitive executive order, and all of these deals include pledges of tens of millions of dollars in pro bono legal work. In this quickly changing landscape, it appears that the biggest law firm in the country, Kirkland & Ellis, is considering one of these commitments to the White House. However, the details of how these deals will work in practice are scant to nonexistent. How will the legal work be tracked? What qualifies as a conservative client? Can the White House reject certain clients as not conservative enough? And does this mean these firms will now turn away liberal-leaning pro bono clients? On today's episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Bloomberg Law reporters Justin Henry and Meghan Tribe dig into the questions surrounding these law firm deals and ask whether this ambiguity is by design. They also talk about what it means that a firm as big as Kirkland is now choosing to negotiate with the White House rather than fight it in court. Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.

"I cannot imagine a worse deal than the one that Skadden came away with." That's the opinion of one of the law firm's own associates, Rachel Cohen. The Chicago-based finance lawyer has grabbed the spotlight by criticizing Skadden and Paul Weiss for reaching agreements with President Donald Trump as he targets Big Law through a series of executive orders. She's also slammed others for staying quiet, even as three major firms fight Trump directives in court. "The industry is not uniting," said Cohen, who is set to officially leave the firm later this week. "We have to be proactive here and we've not seen that from anyone except for associates." Late last week, President Trump said that, to avoid being targeted by a punitive executive order, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom agreed to provide $100 million worth of pro bono services to causes Trump supports. This is $60 million more than was offered in a similar deal struck by the firm Paul Weiss weeks earlier. Even before this, Cohen had already put in her resignation, which will take effect later this week. More than 1,500 Big Law associates anonymously signed an open letter criticizing the industry's response to Trump's attacks. Cohen chose not to remain anonymous. Now she's calling on Big Law associates to go on a "recruitment strike" and refuse to do any recruitment for their firms until partners take a stronger stance against Trump. On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Cohen speaks with Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens about her reaction to the Skadden deal and about what power associates have in this ongoing battle between Big Law and the White House. "Associates are the workhorses," she said. "And the partners certainly do not want to be responsible for the work that they historically farm out to associates." Do you have feedback on this episode of On The Merits? Give us a call and leave a voicemail at 703-341-3690.