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Now Trump Wants More from Big Law

April 16, 2025 · 10:54 am ET · Leave a Comment

“When some of the nation’s biggest law firms agreed to deals with President Trump, the terms appeared straightforward: In return for escaping the full force of his retribution campaign, the firms would do some free legal work on behalf of largely uncontroversial causes like helping veterans,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Trump, it turns out, has a far more expansive view of what those firms can be called on to do.”

“Over the last week, he has suggested that the firms will be drafted into helping him negotiate trade deals…”

“And he has hinted that he sees the promises of nearly $1 billion in pro bono legal services that he has extracted from the elite law firms — including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom; and Willkie Farr & Gallagher — as a legal war chest to be used as he wishes.”

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Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.

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