'Ready to fight': How one major firm refuses to be bullied by Trump

28 April

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 23, 2025.

Since returning to The White House, President Donald Trump has embraced a new tactic: using executive orders to bully and make life difficult for law firms that have represented clients he views as political adversaries.

The major firms Trump targeted include Perkins Coie; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Susman Godfrey; and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Full disclosure: this journalist's mother was employed by Skadden, Arps during the 1980s.

Some of these firms are making concessions to Trump; others are fighting back, including Perkins Coie and Susman Godfrey.

Business Insider reporters Jack Newsham and Jacob Shamsian detail Jack Newsham and Jacob Shamsian's struggle against the Trump Administration in an article published on April 28.

"When President Donald Trump issued an executive order this month targeting Susman Godfrey, one of the nation's preeminent law firms, the way forward was clear," Newsham and Shamsian explain. "The order came as a 'total bolt from the blue,' one lawyer representing the firm said later during a court hearing. No one at Susman Godfrey spoke with the White House about cutting a deal, according to two people familiar with the matter. The firm was ready to fight."

The Business Insider reporters add, "The partners unanimously agreed the firm would sue the United States government to block the executive order within two hours of reviewing it, the two people said."

According to Newsham and Shamsian, nine major law firms "struck deals with the president," while Susman Godfrey — like Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale — "opted to fight the (Trump) Administration in court."

"So far, there is little evidence those four firms have suffered serious consequences for choosing to fight," Newsham and Shamsian report. "In each of the four lawsuits, federal judges quickly blocked the most consequential elements from each executive order and signaled they would later rule in favor of the law firms…. The Wall Street Journal reported that Perkins Coie's biggest clients, including Amazon and Boeing, are sticking with the firm, although it lost some work from Honeywell."

Read the full Business Insider article at this link (subscription required).

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