The law firm that employs Doug Emhoff, husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, is the latest to strike a deal with the Trump administration and agree to conform with the president’s policies.
On Tuesday, Trump announced that Willkie Farr & Gallagher, which Emhoff joined as a partner in January, agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal work during President Trump’s time in the White House and beyond. The president said the services will be dedicated to helping veterans, Gold Star families, law enforcement members and first responders.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, his social media platform, that the firm agreed to combat antisemitism and not engage in “DEI” efforts.
“Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP proactively reached out to President Trump and his Administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession,” the White House said in a statement. “The President is delivering on his promises of eradicating Partisan Lawfare in America, and restoring Liberty and Justice FOR ALL.”
Emhoff told his law firm’s leadership that he disagreed with making a deal with Trump, according to a source familiar with the conversations who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Harris and Emhoff did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday
Trump’s agreement with Emhoff’s firm is the latest in a stretch of deal-making between the White House and major American law firms the president has accused of liberal bias, frivolous or fraudulent litigation or other malpractice.
The president’s efforts have raised widespread alarm among Democratic elected officials as well as constitutional and campaign attorneys about their impact on the separation of powers embedded in the United States Constitution and the independence of the judiciary.
“The actions against law firms are blatantly illegal. Capitulating just encourages going after more law firms,” said Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law, who tried to rally other law school deans to speak out with him against the White House’s targeting of individual law firms, with limited success. “The best hope was their sticking together and fighting the illegal, retributive orders.”
The head of Emhoff’s firm — which has 1,200 employees across six countries — confirmed the agreement, according to Trump’s post.
“The substance of that agreement is consistent with our Firm’s views on access to Legal representation by clients, including pro bono clients, our commitment to complying with the Law as it relates to our employment practices, and our history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints,” said Thomas M. Cerabino, the chairman of firm, according to Trump’s post.
Emhoff, 60, has worked as an entertainment, media and intellectual property attorney, and was hired to help advise corporations, entities and people in the midst of crisis or dealing with shifting legal ground, according to the firm’s announcement when he was brought on board in January.
Cerabino said at the time that Emhoff was “a trusted counselor to many global business leaders across a broad range of industries.”
Shortly before Trump announced the agreement on social media Tuesday, Emhoff spoke to Georgetown Law School students.
“The rule of law is under attack. Democracy is under attack. And so, all of us lawyers need to do what we can to push back on that,” he said. “Us lawyers have always been on the front lines, fighting for civil rights, for justice. … I love being a lawyer, this is what we do: We fight for people. We fight for what’s right.”
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Trump has attacked major law firms for employing attorneys who have participated in cases against him and his allies in the past, including supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. He has also targeted them for promoting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, including in hiring, and for allegedly showing a liberal political bias in selecting pro bono clients.
Trump issued a presidential memorandum threatening all law firms with sanctions, revoked security clearances and other punishments if his administration determines that they have improperly sued the federal government.
Several firms have struck deals to preempt or avoid further reprisal, while others have sued, alleging they are being unlawfully targeted for retribution.
The firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison agreed to contribute $40 million in legal services to causes Trump has championed and to represent clients regardless of political affiliation. The firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom agreed to provide more than $100 million in free services for Trump-backed initiatives.
Leaders of those firms have defended the deals, arguing the work promised as part of them serve the interests of the firms.
Several other firms have sued the administration over its attacks.
“For more than 100 years, Jenner has stood firm and tirelessly advocated for our clients against all adversaries, including against unlawful government action. We once again go to court to do just that,” the firm Jenner & Block wrote in a recent statement about its decision to litigate. “To do otherwise would mean compromising our ability to zealously advocate for all of our clients and capitulating to unconstitutional government coercion, which is simply not in our DNA.”
The firm WilmerHale hired the prominent conservative attorney Paul Clement to handle its case.
Many in the legal world, including prominent academics, have balked at the agreements that law firms have struck with the Trump administration, worrying that they represent a major threat to the legal profession and the core tenet of American law, that everyone deserves representation from competent counsel in court — whether or not a political ally resides in the White House.
“The way the system of justice is supposed to work is that everyone has a right to counsel and you don’t get punished for representing people who are politically unpopular,” said a veteran Washington, D.C., campaign lawyer, who requested anonymity to speak candidly because they feared retaliation. “It’s a chink out of our system of government to villainize law firms like this.”
