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Donald Trump has withdrawn an executive order targeting Paul Weiss after the Wall Street law firm pledged to provide $40mn of pro bono advice to support his administration and agreed not to pursue diversity policies in its recruitment.
In a post on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, the US president said the order had been cancelled following a meeting with Paul Weiss chair Brad Karp in which the firm had agreed not to pursue diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The law firm also agreed to an external audit of its employment practices.
It followed an executive order made by Trump against the law firm last week, which directed federal agencies to withdraw Paul Weiss’s security clearances and terminate government contracts with the firm or companies that do business with it.
The order cited the involvement of former Paul Weiss partner Mark Pomerantz in a criminal investigation against the president, and the firm’s policies on recruitment using DEI targets.
As part of the agreement, Paul Weiss, adviser to companies such as Amazon, Apollo and Goldman Sachs, committed to offer free services to Trump projects including a task force to combat antisemitism.
It also agreed not to deny representation to any potential clients “because of the personal political views of individual lawyers”, according to Trump’s social media post. Karp openly backed Kamala Harris in the election and has been a key fundraiser for the Democratic party.
Paul Weiss was the third major law firm to face an order from Trump in recent weeks after the president also targeted Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie over their representation of his opponents, and Perkins’ DEI policies. The moves have sent a chill across the industry, with Trump pledging a further crackdown on Big Law over diversity practices.
In his social media post Trump said he had agreed to cancel the executive order against Paul Weiss after a meeting with Karp, who had “acknowledged the wrongdoing of former Paul Weiss partner, Mark Pomerantz, the grave dangers of weaponization, and the vital need to restore our system of justice”.
Karp said his firm was “gratified that the president has agreed to withdraw the executive order” and looks “forward to an engaged and constructive relationship”, according to Trump’s post.
In a sign of the potential backlash facing the industry, an associate at Skadden posted her resignation on LinkedIn this week citing the lack of a response from the firm to Trump’s actions.
“This is not what I saw for my career . . . but Paul Weiss’ decision to cave to the Trump administration on DEI, representation, and staffing has forced my hand,” said Rachel Cohen, who is based in Skadden’s Chicago office.
“We do not have time. It is now or it is never, and if it is never, I will not continue to work here.”
Paul Weiss and Skadden did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
