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Bill Burck and his law group Quinn Emanuel held rarefied status in the first months of the new Trump administration, one of a few top US firms that seemed well placed not only to avoid Donald Trump’s wrath but also benefit from connections to the president’s inner circle.
That delicate position now appears in question. This week Trump labelled Burck a “not that good” lawyer and called for him to be fired from a role advising the Trump Organization. His offence: agreeing to represent Harvard University in its lawsuit against the administration. Hours later, the president’s son Eric Trump indicated Burck would be removed from the family business.
The episode has highlighted how a small coterie of attorneys and law firms with close ties to Trump have managed to escape his enmity while also acting as go-betweens for those in the president’s crosshairs. It also raises questions about whether any lawyer can represent the administration’s adversaries without themselves becoming a target.
“Unfortunately, Big Law has been placed in a no-win situation,” said a top corporate lawyer who asked to speak anonymously to avoid being targeted by Trump. “What Trump is doing is putting at risk the very job lawyers have done in America for centuries.”
Burck is just one among a group of elite lawyers retained by Harvard in the funding case. The others include Robert Hur, the former special counsel who oversaw the federal investigation into former president Joe Biden’s handling of classified information; Steven Lehotsky, a one-time clerk for conservative US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; and Joshua Levy, former US attorney for the district of Massachusetts.
Burck’s firm, Quinn Emanuel, has a reputation for being unafraid to take on big targets and high-profile or controversial clients, without worrying about who that might upset. It is representing Elon Musk, as well as Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who the US wrongly deported to a maximum security jail in El Salvador last month. The firm’s emails often end with the tagline, “The most feared law firm in the world”.
Burck is also a negotiator. Hours before his apparent dismissal from the Trump Organization on Thursday morning, people in his orbit were admiring how well-placed he seemed to be. Burck and Quinn Emanuel declined to comment for this article.
Burck has a long history of Republican credentials, burnished by his representation of Trump loyalists in the Russia investigation during his first term. Burck was “a guy that understands at a deep level the law and ‘the rules of the game’”, said Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, who was among those represented by Burck.
In March, when law firm Paul Weiss was seeking help to fend off an executive order targeting it for supporting progressive causes, its chair Brad Karp reached out to Burck.
Instead of launching a full-frontal attack on the president, the Quinn lawyer worked the phones and acted as a go-between that ultimately allowed the two sides to reach a deal. The deal ended the administration’s immediate attack on Paul Weiss but proved highly controversial.
People briefed about the negotiation between Karp and Trump said Burck was helpful and constructive, and he understands how to win cases while avoiding conflict.
One of the people, who is familiar with the Harvard situation, said the goal was at least initially to attempt the same between Harvard and Trump. “It was a move to solve the problem in a diplomatic way,” they said. Burck was a lawyer who could fight hard in court but might also negotiate.
Harvard’s choice of Burck as its lawyer “suggested a readiness to talk even as they litigate”, said Daniel Richman, a former US federal prosecutor and now a professor at Columbia Law School. “If they wanted scorched earth, there are plenty of other names” it could have talked to, Richman said. “It remains to be seen whether Harvard’s bet was right.”
So far, Quinn Emanuel appears to have avoided the Trump administration’s wrath. Unlike many Wall Street law firms, it has not been the target of an executive order or an inquiry by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over diversity practices, even though it has championed inclusiveness as much as others — with a stated commitment of “preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion.” A spokesman for the firm said it has been refining the standards for months and the version viewed by the Financial Times is “an old policy.”
Just a few months ago, the Trump Organization said Burck was seen as “one of the Nation’s finest and most respected lawyers”. Now, it is not clear whether his rift with the administration will deepen as the Harvard case heats up.
