Ed.
note:
Please
welcome
Vivia
Chen
back
to
the
pages
of
Above
the
Law.
Subscribe
to
her
Substack,
“The
Ex-Careerist,” here.
AS
TRAUMATIC
AS
THE
PAUL
WEISS
DEAL
with
Donald
Trump
was
for many
of
us,
I
find
the
deal
that
Skadden
Arps
recently
cut
even
more
troubling
—
portending,
I
fear,
the
unfathomable
depths
that
Biglaw
will
sink
to
curry
favor
with
this
administration.
First,
it
was
striking
that
Skadden
chose
preemptive
capitulation.
Unlike
Paul
Weiss,
Skadden
had
not
received
one
of
Trump’s
dreaded
executive
orders
when
it
eagerly
waved
the
white
flag.
As
Trump
gloated
on
Truth
Social, the
firm
came
to
him in
supplication:
“Skadden,
Arps,
Slate,
Meagher
&
Flom
LLP
approached
President
Trump
and
his
Administration,
and
declared
the
Firm’s
strong
commitment
to
ending
the
Weaponization
of
the
Justice
System
and
the
Legal
Profession.”
(Wait,
did
Skadden
just
admit
it’s
been
“weaponizing”
the
system?)
But
what’s
getting
attention
is
how
much
Skadden
is
forking
over
for
a
Trump
absolution.
While
it
seemed
jaw-dropping
just
12
days
ago
or
so
that
Paul
Weiss
agreed
to
put
$40
million
into
Trump’s
pet
pro
bono
projects,
Skadden
is
committing
a
fat
$100
million
for
the
same
privilege.
(Granted,
those
amounts
are
practically
drops
in
the
bucket
for
both
firms
–
just
1.52%
of
Paul
Weiss’s
revenues
and
3%
of
Skadden’s.)
So
if
your
firm
is
on
Trump’s
blacklist,
you
better
be
ready
to
pay
the
going-rate.
Otherwise,
tough
noogies!
And
if
you
parse
the
terms
of
the
two
agreements
(as
described
by
Trump here and here),
you’ll
note
that
Skadden’s
commitments
went
further:
-
Skadden
agreed
to
“a
total
of at
least $100
million
in
pro
bono
legal
services,
during
the
Trump
Administration
and beyond,”
meaning
that
hefty
$100
million
is
the
floor,
not
the
ceiling.
(Paul
Weiss’s
commitment
seems
capped
at
$40
million
and
limited
in
duration
to
Trump’s
term.) -
Skadden
agreed
to
“change
its
pro
bono
policy
so
that
all
pro
bono
moving
forward
will
be
done
in
the
Firm
name.”
That
likely
means
Skadden
will
be
hampered
in
providing
behind-the-scenes
support
to
organizations
that
challenge
Trump.
(There’s
no
mention
of
such
an
arrangement
in
Paul
Weiss’s
deal.) -
Skadden
agreed
to
“not
deny
representation”
to
“members
of
politically
disenfranchised
groups.”
That
could
include
some
unsavory
groups,
such
as
election
deniers,
the
Proud
Boys
or
White
Nationalists.
(Paul
Weiss
only
agreed
to
pro
bono
“that
represent
the
full
spectrum
of
political
viewpoints.”)
THESE
ARE
NOT
INSIGNIFICANT
GIVES.
While
Paul
Weiss
might
have
set
the
precedent
for
Biglaw’s
capitulation
to
Trump,
Skadden
is
taking
it
to
the
next
level.
It’s
not
just
bending
the
knee
but
going
on
all
fours
and
doing
a
total
kowtow.
Were
these
concessions
offered
by
the
firm
or
demanded
by
the
administration?
Skadden executive
partner
Jeremy
London certainly
isn’t
saying.
Nor
is
he
shedding
much
light
on
the
decision-making
process.
Like
Paul
Weiss
chair
Brad
Karp,
London
wrote
an
everything-is-back-to-normal memo to
the
firm
outlining
the
main
points
of
the
deal
with
the
administration.
While
Karp’s memo was
expansive
and
bumpy,
offering
a
much
more
detailed
(and
emotional)
glimpse
into
the
decision-making
process,
London’s
message
to
the
troops
was
succinct
and
smooth.
Perhaps
too
smooth.
Subscribe
to
read
more
at
The
Ex-Careerist….
Vivia
Chen writes “The
Ex-Careerist” column
on
Substack
where
she
unleashes
her
unvarnished
views
about
the
intersection
of
work,
life,
and
politics.
A
former
lawyer,
she
was
an
opinion
columnist
at
Bloomberg
Law
and
The
American
Lawyer.
Subscribe
to
her
Substack
by
clicking
here:
