DOJ Un-Drops Its Appeal Against Law Firms, Files Brief That Gets The First Amendment Exactly Backwards
On Wednesday of last week, I wrote a post about how the Trump administration had quietly given up defending its unconstitutional executive orders targeting law firms. The DOJ was dropping its appea…
@kenwhite.bsky.social interesting interview with one of the lawyers who resigned from Skadden when they announced they were making a deal with Trump.
tl;dr she says that they law firms believe they have outsmarted the donald by not committing to much, which is only possible to believe if you think he's not going to keep asking for stuff. @ncweaver.skerry-tech.com
I've been waiting for just over a week for the folks at TMR to clip this interview with former Skadden lawyer Rachel Cohen so I could share it here. Not only is Cohen's inside baseball perspective on the cowardice of Big Law firms groveling before Trump an interesting watch, but she's also one of the few people with knowledge of the situation willing to state what *I* feel is pretty obvious - that the Trump regime's war on Big Law is about trying to restrict the number of lawyers and firms that will bring totally legitimate cases against their fascist policies and activities, through a sheer question of numbers and resources.
The clip is only about 15 minutes long, but I guarantee you that Cohen here is spitting more truth than you'll find in all the articles about Big Law's capitalist cowardice and craven surrender in media sources like the Washington Post, the New York Times, or the Wall Street Journal. It's worth the watch:
The Majority Report: Trump's Revenge
"Sam and Emma are joined by Rachel Cohen, lawyer formerly of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, to discuss the country’s largest law firms bending the knee to Donald Trump."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0bVdiTDzQo
#VichyEstablishment #BigLaw #Law #Courts #Skadden #RachelCohen #TMR #SamSeder #EmmaVigeland #Fascism #Trump #Collaboration
Rest in peace, Skadden, Arps.
When his Law Firm Caved to Trump, he Quit
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/podcasts/the-daily/trump-law-firms-skadden.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-04.NzDE.w8fbhUNcGh15&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
The lawyers bar association should let Hunter Biden alone!
He is obviously an UPGRADE, compared to the way the white shoe law firms are falling all over themselves to work for free for a convicted felonious extortionist like trump.
#hunterBiden
#skadden #paulweiss
📧 Email Governance Gone Wrong: What Skadden’s Misstep Teaches IT Leaders
In an attempt to restrict firmwide communication, Skadden disabled internal email distribution lists—only to accidentally trigger a mass email that exposed the restriction effort itself.
From an IT operations perspective, this incident underscores critical lessons:
🔐 Restricting communication tools requires strong governance AND transparent policy
⚙️ Tech enforcement without cultural alignment leads to workarounds and reputational damage
🛠️ Distribution list controls should include:
・Proper change management
・Internal communications planning
・Monitoring and rollback protocols
📣 Staff need clear guidance, not silent shutdowns
In the age of hybrid work and high-stakes messaging, email is infrastructure. Treat it like it matters.
#ITOperations #EmailPolicy #ChangeManagement #InfoSec #CommunicationGovernance #LegalIT #Skadden
And another white shoe DC law firm decides to capitulate to fascism rather than fight; even as their colleagues at other firms are successfully getting restraining orders to block Trump's strongarm tactics. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (typically shortened to just "Skadden") joins the firm Paul Weiss on the wall of infamy and cowardice, with a "deal" that's even more collaborationist with, again - fascists and a fascist agenda.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/skadden-arps-deal-trump
'Pathetic': Elite Law Firm Blasted for Striking Deal With Trump Administration
"The firm has agreed to provide at least $100 million in pro bono legal services to the federal government during his administration "and beyond," according to a Truth Social post from U.S. President Donald Trump. Also, the "firm will not engage in illegal" diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) "discrimination and preferences," according to the post, which also noted that the firm proactively reached out to the administration about an agreement.
Speaking at the White House on Friday, Trump called the deal "essentially a settlement," according to Reuters.
"Pathetic when the richest and most powerful lawyers in America won't stand up for the profession that made them rich and powerful," wrote U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) on X on Friday, reacting to earlier reporting that the firm was in discussions with the White House over a deal."
In addition to the $100M of pro bono work for the Trump regime, other outlets are reporting that Skadden has promised to offer fellowships to "conservative" (so, fascist, because conservative means fascist in this political environment) law graduates, and take cases for conservative causes - which I think we can safely parse to mean things like "reverse racism" lawsuits, and anti-gender discrimination cases that involve "protecting women" by persecuting trans women. Did I mention that Skadden took these steps preemptively, as in before Trump even issued an executive order targeting them?
As in the case of Paul Weiss, and various wealthy Universities in America, the simple truth is that these folks are choosing to actively collaborate with fascists, and reinforcing the twisted unreality imposed by a fascist regime, for nothing more than money. We have a term for people who help fascists, do fascism, for money - it's fascist collaborator, or simply just "fascist." Like all the others, Skadden thinks they're striking a deal to stop Der Führer's assault on their very lucrative enterprise; and like the others, they'll soon discover that they work for Trump now, and there's no amount of appeasement that will change that.
#Fascism #Trump #BigLaw #Skadden #Collaboration #VichyEstablishment #Courts #Law
Skadden Arps, a prestigious law firm, faced backlash for acquiescing to the Trump administration. The firm agreed to provide $100 million in pro bono services. Is this a betrayal of the legal profession's values?
Jen Rubin and Rachel Cohen discuss the Existential Threat Against Big Law
"As the Trump administration continues to go after major law firms, Jen Rubin interviews Rachel Cohen, an associate at #Skadden LLP who recently posted a viral resignation letter on LinkedIn. In her letter, Rachel outlines her grievances towards the firm’s lack of response to Trump’s attacks."
#TheContrarian #biglaw #capitulation #trump #law
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/jen-rubin-and-rachel-cohen-discuss
As the Trump administration continues to go after major law firms, Jen Rubin interviews Rachel Cohen, an associate at Skadden LLP who recently posted a viral resignation letter on LinkedIn. In her letter, Rachel outlines her grievances towards the firm’s lack of response to Trump’s attacks.
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