Why Major Law Firms Surrendered to Trump so Quickly

Donald Trump’s campaign to punish and intimidate large law firms has generated a wave of controversy, with many bristling at his use of the presidency to punish his perceived enemies — with considerable success to date.

In recent weeks, two large law firms reached settlements with the Trump administration that stunned the legal profession — the first with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, which pledged to commit $40 million in free legal work “to support the Administration’s initiatives,” and the second with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which upped the ante to a $100 million commitment. The deals allowed the firms to avoid sanctions imposed by Trump’s executive orders, including revocations of government security clearances held by the firms’ lawyers and prohibitions on entering federal buildings.