{"id":5466,"date":"2025-04-25T14:33:29","date_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/associate-exits-at-kirkland-labor-complaint-against-skadden-among-the-latest-in-backlash-to-trump-deals\/"},"modified":"2025-04-25T14:33:29","modified_gmt":"2025-04-25T14:33:29","slug":"associate-exits-at-kirkland-labor-complaint-against-skadden-among-the-latest-in-backlash-to-trump-deals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/associate-exits-at-kirkland-labor-complaint-against-skadden-among-the-latest-in-backlash-to-trump-deals\/","title":{"rendered":"Associate Exits at Kirkland, Labor Complaint Against Skadden Among the Latest in Backlash to Trump Deals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Scrutiny on law firm deals with the Trump administration, both from within and beyond Big Law, mounted this week, with additional associates announcing resignations at Kirkland & Ellis and a workers\u2019 rights group claiming Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom unfairly limited employee discussions about it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Those moves came as more Democratic lawmakers sent another batch of letters<\/u><\/a> requesting details about the deals and urging law firms to disavow them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At least three more lawyers on LinkedIn this week pointed to the deals<\/u><\/a> with Trump as reason to move on from their firm. In separate posts, Harold Grigsby III, Kevin Decker and Maggie Hagen, all Washington, D.C. litigation associates at Kirkland, pointed to the firm\u2019s commitment to provide pro bono and other legal services \u2014 while avoiding a Trump executive order \u2014 as the impetus for their resignations from the firm. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cTo me, these actions set a troubling precedent,\u201d Hagen wrote. \u201cWhen law firms yield to political pressure, it compromises the independence of our profession and threatens our ability to zealously advocate for our clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI am disappointed by the decision of the world\u2019s most powerful and successful law firm not to fight back against this unlawful incursion, especially when other firms are already doing so successfully,\u201d Decker wrote, referring to Kirkland’s status as the highest-grossing revenue in the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThis is not neutrality, this is complicity. Complicity I can no longer be a part of,\u201d Grigsby stated.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A spokesperson for Kirkland did not immediately comment on the announcements. Other firms, though, have also seen resignations for similar reasons<\/u><\/a> <\/u>after their deals with Trump were struck, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison; Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett; Latham & Watkins, and Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the same time, firm leaders themselves<\/u><\/a> have insisted that the deals won\u2019t affect their practice. Kirkland, for instance, told its lawyers<\/u><\/a> after the deal was announced that the firm \u201cwill continue to determine which matters we take on \u2014 both pro bono and otherwise \u2014 consistent with our non-partisan mindset\u201d and that <\/i>\u201cat our very core, our mission is to protect and support our people and our clients, and this agreement does both.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite law firms’ insistence that they will stick to pro bono categories of the deals, including work for veterans and combating anti-Semitism, Trump has openly suggested <\/a>he will ask the firms to handle coal leasing matters and negotiate trade talks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Separately, the National Institute for Workers\u2019 Rights on Thursday reportedly filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The group claimed the firm restricted access to email distribution lists where firm associates would discuss its agreement with the administration, express concerns about it, and submit resignations, among other things.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Skadden interfered with these activities by restricting access to email distribution lists in order to suppress employee discussions about the firm’s policy changes,” the labor group said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The complaint was signed by Jason Solomon, director of the institute, which describes itself as a nonprofit group dedicated to workers’ rights among those not represented by a union.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A spokesperson for Skadden did not immediately comment on the filing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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