Biglaw
is
at
an
inflection
point.
The
industry
is
under
attack,
faced
with
the
weaponization
of
likely
unconstitutional
executive
orders
designed
to
extract
a
financial
price.
But
rather
than
fight
for
the
rule
of
law
and
the
Constitution,
too
many
Biglaw
firms
opted
to
make
a
deal
with
Donald
Trump.
And
like
Lando
Calrissian’s
deal
with
Vader,
those
deals
are
morphing
into
something
even
worse.
But
there
is
resistance.
Attorneys
at
firms
that
have
surrendered
to
Trump
are
quitting.
Partners
are
speaking
out.
And
associates
are
organizing.
Rich
Davis
is
a
partner
in
the
Structured
Credit
practice
at
Paul
Hastings.
And
in
between
repping
lenders
in
financings
secured
by
fintech
assets,
he
took
to
LinkedIn
to
sound
off
on
what
he
thinks
about
the
current
state
of
Biglaw.
It’s
not
flattering
—
at
least
to
those
that
have
bended
a
knee
to
Trump.
I
have
been
thinking
about
these
things
during
the
last
couple
of
weeks
in
the
context
of
the
leadership
of
a
number
of
the
most
revered
law
firms
in
the
world
making
a
choice
–
a
voluntary,
calculated
choice
–
to
either
not
fight
clearly
unconstitutional
executive
orders
or,
even
more
baffling,
to
preemptively
strike
a
corrupt
deal
with
a
would-be-tyrant
bent
on
destroying
the
checks
and
balances
that
have
been
the
hallmark
of
our
democracy
since
our
Constitution
was
ratified.Of
all
the
things
that
I
might
have
guessed
would
happen
during
a
second
Trump
Administration,
it
never
occurred
to
me
that
the
leadership
of
the
richest
and
most
powerful
law
firms
in
the
world
would,
on
behalf
of
the
many
fine
lawyers
who
work
in
those
firms,
not
only
betray
their
oaths
to
support
and
uphold
the
Constitution
of
the
United
States,
but
also
decide
that
this
situation,
which
represents
the
greatest
threat
to
our
democracy
since
the
Civil
War,
was
a
situation
that
called
for
“a
deal
to
be
made”
with
the
very
person
that
is
trying
to
destroy
our
democracy.I
am
sure
the
leadership
of
these
law
firms
have
many
rational
and
carefully
considered
business
justifications
for
why
they
did
what
they
did
–
but
I
don’t
care.
When
faced
with
a
moment
–
the
biggest
moment
–
that
demanded
courage
and
integrity,
they
failed.
They
failed
themselves,
they
failed
the
many
fine
lawyers
in
their
firms,
they
failed
the
legal
profession
and
they
failed
the
American
people.
They
failed
because
they
value
their
profits,
and
the
business
of
law,
more
than
they
value
the
rule
of
law.
I
hope
the
rest
of
us
will
do
better.
It’s
a
stark
reminder
that
the
Biglaw
surrender
to
Trump
impacts
every
aspect
of
the
legal
profession
—
and
we’re
all
worse
off
for
it.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].