The Shift: Trump Deals Have a Disparate Impact Across Big Law
Talent is the lifeblood of law firms, and the Trump administration’s deals with nine law firms to avoid or resolve an executive order have shaken up the legal industry’s talent market. But it’s had a mixed impact, including in recruiting and retention of top lawyers. It’s fair to say each firm has experienced different ripple effects, if any.
Judging by how much Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins are luring top partners from rival firms, you couldn’t say their recruiting efforts have been significantly stymied by the $125 million pro bono deal that each struck with Trump.
Meanwhile, three New York law firms that made deals with President Trump have seen exits of some prominent litigation partners.
Overall, litigators have been more dissatisfied with the Trump deals and have been more likely to leave firms that agreed to pro bono settlements with the president, Law.com has reported. But not all firms making a deal with Trump appear to have a fallout on the litigation side, at least for now, and top law firms continue to compete heavily for corporate and litigation partner talent.
The Conversation
While Kirkland and Latham have said goodbye to some partners in the last two months who made lateral moves, the two firms also made headlines for their hires.
Kirkland says it’s already hired about 100 litigators in 2025 alone. That includes large groups from King & Spalding and Skadden to build out Kirkland’s mass tort and product liability practices.
Latham, for its part, has announced at least two prominent partners in the last week, including Zach Podolsky, a top dealmaker from Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, and Andrew Forman, a former deputy assistant attorney general. The firm also recently added a top litigator from Garrigues in Brussels.
Meanwhile, the litigation exits at Willkie Farr & Gallagher; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft have made headlines.
For some, it’s not clear how much each of these litigation partner exits was connected to their firms’ Trump deals. But Law.com has reported that the group of seven litigation partners leaving Willkie Farr & Gallagher for Cooley, in a group of about 20 lawyers, were unhappy over how Willkie responded to the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, a counsel litigator at Cadwalader, J. B. Howard, wrote a resignation letter objecting to the firm’s capitulation to Trump. And Ellen Holloman, who served as the head of Cadwalader’s pro bono committee, joined the boutique of Robbie Kaplan, who represented E. Jean Carroll in high-profile lawsuits against Trump.
Steven Banks, a pro bono practice leader at Paul Weiss and former commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, resigned to return to representing the Coalition for the Homeless with Legal Aid Society. And Damian Williams, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, left Paul Weiss for Jenner & Block, which obtained a summary judgment against Trump’s executive order.
The Significance
Some litigators are moving from firms that have had known positions in the market for taking progressive and public approaches to public interest work.
Paul Weiss has a longstanding history of liberal social causes and notably took a more public stand against Trump in his first term, especially in immigration matters.
Willkie is employing Doug Emhoff, spouse to former Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. The firm also represented two former Georgia poll workers pro bono in a lawsuit against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The Trump deals likely “shook some foundations” at some of these firms and “made people think,” observers say.
Some litigators may also be concerned about their own identity and brand shifting as a result of the Trump deals.
“One could have a political identity and look at the EOs and say they are damaging to the rule of law and are problematic,” Rebecca Roiphe, a legal ethics professor at New York Law School, told Law.com. “But the people who make public statements might be doing so because they need to signal something for their own personal advancement. It is certainly possible, one might even say probable.”
To be clear, several associates have quit other firms that have struck a deal with Trump, including Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Kirkland, citing their dissatisfaction over the settlements. But associates are not quitting in large droves at these firms, especially in an uncertain environment and potentially rocky economy ahead.
Regardless of the firm, the deals exposed the tension between litigation and corporate departments. They were already simmering, as private equity client relationships have become a larger factor in law firm profits and have held more sway in management decisions.
“The corporate lawyers have been driving the [Trump deals], to the great displeasure of many, if not most or all, of the litigators,” one D.C. partner told Law.com.
Paul Weiss, Kirkland, Latham, Skadden, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Milbank all have well-known corporate, M&A and private equity practices, but it’s unclear if and whether their corporate partners drove all the decision-making in negotiating with Trump.
The Information
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The Forecast
While some chapters may be over in the Trump v. Big Law war, the book is not yet written—some moves and partner talent are far from settled.
According to industry observers and sources, some of the nine law firms that made deals with Trump will see more partners depart, but mandatory notice periods built into partnership agreements will delay some moves.
Additionally, laterals and groups commonly shop themselves to multiple firms, and it takes time to have those conversations, one industry observer noted.
Meanwhile, some partners could be waiting to be paid their year-end profits, and some associates are waiting until they get paid out for year-end bonuses. It’s also possible that while some partners are experiencing outrage now over their firms’ settlements with Trump, those emotions will eventually fizzle, and there will be few other exits.
While it appears only some law firms are experiencing a fall out from their Trump deals now, the full ripple effects have yet to be seen.
