The law firms targeted by President Donald Trump’s executive orders deserve our profession’s unwavering support as they defend the Constitution. Every lawyer and bar association across America should stand with them in this fight for judicial independence (the Cleveland Metro Bar was among the first to take a stand).
Yet, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: many of these same firms helped create the environment that made Trump’s rise possible.
Before becoming victims of Trump’s transparently corrupt attacks, these prestigious firms participated in the culture of behind-the-scenes influence peddling that eroded public trust in our institutions. Their lobbying practices and the revolving door between government service and private practice fostered a two-tier system of justice that alienated working-class Americans and drove them toward dangerous populist alternatives like Donald Trump. The massive donations from these firms to candidates and parties helped corrupt both Democrats and Republicans.
Most attorneys in America don’t earn their living through influence pedaling. While we must defend these targeted firms, we should recognize that they serve the wealthiest individuals and corporations in America, charging four-figure hourly rates that place them beyond the reach of ordinary citizens.
The brazen nature of President Trump’s executive orders against Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, Covington and Burling, Jenner and Block, and Wilmer Hale was shocking. These orders prohibited these firms from representing the federal government, canceled contracts with their clients, revoked necessary security clearances and barred their personnel from federal buildings—a clear unconstitutional assault on the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Even more disturbing has been the capitulation we’ve witnessed. Paul Weiss’s surrender was followed by similar settlements from Skadden Arps and Wilkie Farr and Gallagher and five other firms. These once-respected institutions abandoned their diversity, equity, and inclusion commitments and pledged millions of pro bono hours to Trump-endorsed causes. The rest of the top law firms in the country by revenue joined the hall of shame by refusing to sign a brief in support of Perkins Coie,
These lawyers have chosen profit over principle when given the chance to defend our profession’s independence and the Constitution itself.
With these elite firms either fighting for survival, capitulating to presidential pressure or hiding under their desks, the rest of the bar must fill the void. Those of us who charge far less than $1,000 per hour must step forward to protect democracy and prevent authoritarian overreach.
Here in Ohio we can educate the public, represent immigrants facing deportation, defend wrongfully terminated federal employees, represent the defunded non profits and local governments that are literally saving lives and providing vital services to our communities and bring constitutional challenges against authoritarian policies that usurp congressional authority.
Over my 38 years in practice I’ve worked with great consumer, personal injury, domestic, bankruptcy, criminal, government and transactional lawyers representing working and middle class Americans and small businesses. These lawyer’s courtroom and analytic skills are every bit as strong as our tall building lawyer counterparts. Lawyers in every community need to organize and collaborate to make sure that every attack on individual liberty and constitutional protection is challenged as the administration continues to flood the zone with their efforts to break historic legal precedents to consolidate power and to enrich themselves and their friends at the expense of the rest of us.
As some of our profession’s most powerful institutions retreat from the field, the burden falls on us—the everyday lawyers of America—to champion individual rights and defend constitutional boundaries. The future of our republic may well depend on our willingness to answer this call.