Trump rescinds order targeting law firm after it makes $40m promise

President Donald Trump has rescinded an executive order targeting a prestigious international law firm after it promised to abandon diversity policies and provide $40m (£31m) worth of free legal work to support White House initiatives.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is a multinational law firm headquartered in New York that has many high-profile clients.

Trump's 14 March order had terminated federal contracts with the firm and suspended security clearances for its lawyers, saying it was undermining the US judicial system.

The firm is now facing blowback from many in the legal community, including a top lawyer for Democrats, even as some lawyers said it had few other options.

Trump has issued similar executive orders against the law firms Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling.

The White House rescinded the order on Thursday after a meeting between Trump and Brad Karp, the chairman of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton.

In a post on Truth Social, the president said the firm had agreed to a series of concessions, including the promise to provide "the equivalent of $40 million in pro bono legal services over the course of President Trump's term to support the Administration's initiatives".

It added that Paul Weiss would commit to "merit-based" hiring and promotion, and "will not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies".

Trump's order last week had cancelled contracts with the firms citing Trump's orders to wipe out any initiatives aimed at Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) within the federal government.

The Truth Social post also included a statement from Mr Karp, who said: "We are gratified that the President has agreed to withdraw the Executive Order concerning Paul, Weiss. We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration."

Many in the legal community have expressed outrage over the deal, which one lawyer said was a "sad day for the legal industry".

Marc Elias, a former Perkins Coie partner and a top lawyer for Democrats, assailed the agreement in a post on social media platform Bluesky.

"Paul Weiss, didn't just bend a knee, it set a new standard for shameful capitulation," he wrote. "This is a stain on the firm, every one of its partners, and the entire legal profession."

Soon after Trump made the announcement, Rachel Cohen, an associate at the Skadden Arps legal firm, resigned in a blistering company-wide email condemning the agreement.

"Please consider this email my two week notice, revocable if the firm comes up with a satisfactory response to the current moment," she wrote. Cohen had asked Skadden to sign onto a brief supporting another firm that has sued the Trump administration.

She had helped organise the open letter criticising the Trump administration for attempting to "bully corporate law firms out of engaging in any representation that challenges the administration's aims". More than 300 associates have signed the letter, using the name of their firm and class year, since it went live about a week ago, Politico reported.

In an internal email to its lawyers, Mr Karp defended the agreement, saying it was in line with the firm's principles, including a commitment to remaining politically independent, Reuters reported.

The firm brought in more than $2bn in annual revenues in 2023, and employed more than 1,000 attorneys, according to American Lawyer Magazine. Revoking its security clearance, which allows its lawyers to see some sensitive information, could have created hurdles to its work with its many corporate, security and Wall Street clients.

In the original executive order, Trump had accused the firm of playing "an outsized role in undermining the judicial process and in the destruction of bedrock American principles".

It had cited "a Paul Weiss partner" who had filed a pro bono lawsuit against the perpetrators of the 6 January 2021 riots at the Capitol. Trump has released all and pardoned many of those known as "J6ers".

It also took direct aim at Mark Pomerantz - a former partner who had worked with the Manhattan District Attorney on the case involving hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Trump was convicted by a jury last year of having committed a felony in the case.

The order had also alleged that the firm "discriminates against its own employees on the basis of race and other categories prohibited by civil rights laws".