President Trump announced Tuesday another deal with a law firm he had targeted for potential punishment, this time the one that employs Doug Emhoff, former Vice President Kamala Harris’s husband.
Mr. Trump did not say why he targeted the firm. Along with its connection to Mr. Trump’s defeated opponent in the November election, the firm also employs a top investigator for the congressional committee that documented President Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, and a litigator who spearheaded a lawsuit that two Georgia election workers brought against Rudolph W. Giuliani in which he was ordered to pay the women $148 million.
The deal between Mr. Trump and the firm, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, is similar to ones reached by other top law firms in recent weeks with Mr. Trump.
Willkie, Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post, committed to representing clients, no matter their political leanings, and pledged $100 million in pro bono legal work to causes Mr. Trump has championed. The firm, Mr. Trump said, would “not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences,” Mr. Trump announced in a Truth Social post.
The executive orders Mr. Trump has leveled against the law firms are widely seen in the legal community as illegal and undemocratic and have been highly criticized by Democrats, legal experts and judges. Those firms that have cut deals with Mr. Trump have been criticized for bending to Mr. Trump simply to protect their bottom lines, and it’s unclear how the deals will be executed and enforced by the administration.
Ms. Harris is weighing whether to run for governor of California or president in 2028 and it’s unclear how the deal will impact Mr. Emhoff’s relationship with the firm, which he joined in January. According to a person briefed on the matter, Mr. Emhoff told the firm’s leadership on Tuesday that they should not strike a deal with Mr. Trump and instead should fight it.
At an event at Georgetown Law School shortly before the deal was announced on Tuesday Mr. Emhoff said that lawyers should be prepared to step up and fight, according to the person. Mr. Emhoff said the rule of law and democracy were under attack, according to the person.
Mr. Trump has had significant success targeting the country’s top law firms as he has waged a retribution campaign against them over the past month and how to respond has split the legal profession.
Long considered some of the most powerful American institutions, three of them have now struck deals with Mr. Trump in exchange for his rescinding — or holding off on leveling — executive orders against them.
Those three firms that have chosen to fight have had a string of legal victories so far. On Friday, federal judges issued temporary restraining orders blocking much of his executive orders targeting two major law firms that participated in investigations of him, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale.
Mr. Trump said that Willkie Farr & Gallagher had committed to “Merit-Based Hiring, Promotion, and Retention” and “will not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.” He also said that the firm had committed to representing clients, no matter their political beliefs.
Last week, Mr. Trump marveled at how firms have been willing to strike deals with him.
“They’re all bending and saying, ‘Sir, thank you very much,’” Mr. Trump said last week. He added: “Law firms are just saying, ‘Where do I sign? Where do I sign?’”
The White House said in a statement that the deal was the latest evidence that “The President is delivering on his promises of eradicating Partisan Lawfare in America, and restoring Liberty and Justice FOR ALL.”
The chairman of the firm, Thomas M. Cerabino, said in a statement posted on Mr. Trump’s Truth Social account that the “substance of that agreement is consistent with our Firm’s views on access to Legal representation by clients, including pro bono clients, our commitment to complying with the Law as it relates to our employment practices, and our history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints.”
In a memo to the firm, Mr. Cerabino said the firm ultimately concluded “that accepting the Administration’s final proposal was the path that best serves our clients’ needs and protects the Firm’s various stakeholders, avoiding potentially grave consequences.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/01/us/politics/trump-law-firm-doug-emhoff-wilkie-farr-gallagher.html
