On Thursday, President Donald Trump changed his mind about an executive order he had made a few days ago. The order was about a renowned law firm called Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. This shift happened after he met with the firm’s boss, Brad Karp.
The company promised to help a lot for free, like giving $40 million for projects that Donald Trump’s team is working on. It shows a new part of how Donald Trump is looking at law firms that work with people he doesn’t agree with in politics.
Trump posted on Truth Social that the law firm Paul, Weiss made three key promises to get him to drop an executive order.
They said they’d keep taking on clients no matter their political beliefs, stop their diversity and inclusion programs, and give away $40 million in legal help to support veterans, fight antisemitism, and ensure “fairness in the Justice System,” as he wants it to be.
Trump rescinds executive order targeting Paul Weiss after law firm agrees to drop DEI hiring practices https://t.co/d5PD7v6odQ
— Business Insider (@BusinessInsider) March 21, 2025
Brad Karp, who is in charge at Paul Weiss, said in a statement shared by Trump, “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.”
The order was going to check out if the firm’s security clearances and government deals were okay because of a guy named Mark Pomerantz. He used to work for Paul, Weiss law firm, but then he went after Trump for those supposed hush-money deals. Trump isn’t a fan because he thinks Pomerantz isn’t playing fair.
Paul, Weiss isn’t the only one in the hot seat with Trump. Earlier in the month, he aimed at Perkins Coie, too. You might know them; they’re the guys who represented the DNC and were tied to Hillary Clinton‘s 2016 run.
He slapped them with an order that took away their security clearances and basically said, “You can’t come in” when it comes to federal buildings. They weren’t too happy about it and ended up suing the administration. A judge stepped in and put a temporary stop to some of that order, saying it raised a few eyebrows about the Constitution.
But wait, there’s more. Covington & Burling, who’ve been backing Jack Smith, the former special counsel, weren’t spared either. They got hit with an executive order from Trump that dampened their federal access. And let’s not forget that Trump’s team has had a broader target: DEI programs in the legal world.
This week, the EEOC, that’s the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, shot out 20 letters to some big-shot law firms, poking around their diversity policies, claiming they might be stepping on some employment law toes.
Legal experts and political analysts have different thoughts on what Trump just did. Some think the big law firm, Paul, Weiss, made a smart move to keep things steady with their business. Others believe the firm gave in to political pressure.
KAMALA BROKE IT—I WILL FIX IT! https://t.co/czQRkZmr59 pic.twitter.com/MdJtxtfXiu
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 2, 2024
Leslie Levin, who teaches legal ethics at the University of Connecticut, said that the firm probably didn’t want to lose big clients. She told Reuters, “There was no playbook for how to deal with this.” The Wall Street Journal reported that they already lost one important client because of the first order Trump made.
The lawyer involved in this, Mark Pomerantz, says, “I engaged in no wrongdoing by working as a prosecutor to uphold the rule of law.”
This change of heart by Trump about Paul, Weiss makes some people think that law firms will have to deal with a lot of political pressure if they seem like they’re against his government. There might be more fights and tricks in the legal world because of this.
For Paul, Weiss, making a deal with Trump might keep them out of trouble for now, but it could also hurt their reputations with clients and other lawyers who think diversity and inclusion are really important.
This whole thing shows that the government might start getting involved in legal matters in a way we haven’t seen before, and it could affect the law even after the election.
