- President Donald Trump reversed an executive order aimed at the law firm Paul Weiss.
- As part of the agreement, Paul Weiss pledge $40 million in pro bono services and to drop DEI hiring.
- Since Trump’s earlier order to revoke its security clearances, the law firm has lost clients.
President Donald Trump said he would rescind an executive order on Thursday that revoked the security clearances of law firm Paul Weiss and threatened its government contracts.
The executive order was initially issued on March 14. According to a statement posted on Trump’s TruthSocial account on Thursday, the firm agreed to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations from its hiring practices and pledged $40 million in pro bono legal services to initiatives endorsed by the Trump administration,
“We are gratified that the President has agreed to withdraw the executive order concerning Paul, Weiss,” said Brad Karp, chairman of Paul Weiss, in a statement posted by Trump on Truth Social. “We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his administration.”
The announcement detailed a meeting between Trump and Karp during which they agreed to a set of principles. These included a commitment to nonpartisan client representation irrespective of individual lawyers’ political views, broad pro bono services to support veterans, and bolstering the administration’s antisemitism task force, among other initiatives.
Additionally, Karp’s statement acknowledged “wrongdoing” by former Paul Weiss partner Mark Pomerantz, who had departed the firm to assist the Manhattan District Attorney’s investigation into Trump’s financial dealings.
The pressure placed upon Paul Weiss is consistent with the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against DEI initiatives. Trump had previously threatened to withdraw funding from public universities that practice DEI in their hiring process and signed an executive order to terminate all federally funded “equity-related” grants or contracts.
As a result, companies like Walmart, Meta, and Lowe’s have all rolled back their DEI programs. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission also recently issued guidance suggesting that common workplace DEI policies, such as diversity training and affinity groups, might contravene federal antidiscrimination laws.
Since Trump’s earlier executive order, the firm had already lost clients. According to a federal court filing in New Jersey on Wednesday, an executive facing federal bribery charges fired his lawyers at the firm, citing concerns that its “continued representation of him may negatively affect his ability to obtain a favorable review of his case.”
Other law firms, such as Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie, are also in Trump’s crosshairs. Separate executive orders issued on February 25 and March 6 targeted these two firms, respectively, and have not been rescinded.
Perkins Coie wrote in a statement that they filed a legal action on March 11 in response to the order. They additionally called the order an “unlawful” attack and a violation of constitutional rights for “all Americans to select counsel of their choice without fear of retribution or punishment from the government.”
Paul Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at katherineli@insider.com, Signal at katherineli.21, or WhatsApp at 510-365-6496. Use a personal email address and a non-work device. Here’s our guide to sharing information securely.
