Second, third associate quit Skadden after firm reaches settlement to avoid becoming Trump target
A second and third associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have left the law firm amid disagreements over its reaction to President Donald Trump’s punitive actions against disfavored firms. (Photo from Shutterstock)
Updated: A second and third associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom have left the law firm amid disagreements over its reaction to President Donald Trump’s punitive actions against disfavored firms.
The first, Rachel Cohen, left after Skadden did not act in response to her call to take a stand in support of other targeted firms. One of her demands was for Skadden to sign an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie’s lawsuit, filed after the Trump administration signed an executive order that suspended its lawyers’ security clearances, called for an investigation of its diversity practices, and sought to end to funding of government contractors that hire the firm.
Then, after Skadden reached an agreement with the Trump administration to avoid becoming a target, a second associate announced that she was resigning on LinkedIn, report Above the Law and Business Insider.
The associate, Brenna Trout Frey, criticized executive partner Jeremy D. London for “capitulating to the Trump administration’s demands for fealty and protection money.” If other associates regard London’s explanation as “a craven attempt to sacrifice the rule of law for self-preservation,” she said, she hopes that they will join her in sending a message that this is unacceptable.
“I know there are people still at the firm who can’t leave for whatever reason, financial reasons, needing to pay back law school loans, the breadwinner for their family,” she told Business Insider. “I knew that those people can’t speak out, so because I was able to, I felt it was important to make that public.”
The third associate is Thomas Sipp, who explained his decision in an email to colleagues, report Above the Law and the New York Times.
“Skadden is on the wrong side of history,” Sipp wrote. “I could no longer stay knowing that someday I would have to explain why I stayed.”
Skadden is the second firm to reach an agreement with the Trump administration, report Law360, Politico and the Associated Press.
The first—Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison—reached a deal in which it agreed to dedicate $40 million in pro bono legal services to support administration initiatives, including assisting veterans, supporting fairness in the justice system, and supporting an antisemitism task force.
Skadden’s deal calls for the firm to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services to support the same kind of initiatives, according to a post by Trump on Truth Social, his social media platform.
Like the Paul Weiss deal, the Skadden agreement affirms a commitment to merit-based employment practices, and that it will not engage in illegal discrimination based on equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives. The Skadden agreement, like the Paul Weiss deal, also says the firm won’t deny representation to clients based on views of individual lawyers.
London said in a firmwide email Trump had planned to target the firm in an executive order citing its pro bono work and diversity policies. The deal was “in the best interests of our clients, our people and our firm,” London said in a statement.
Perkins Coie was the first to sue over an executive order targeting the firm. The others are Jenner & Block and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. All three have obtained temporary restraining orders blocking part of Trump’s executive orders.
Updated April 2 at 8:30 a.m. to report on the third associate leaving Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
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