Lawyers and bar associations must stand up to Trump's efforts to punish firms | Opinion

The tyrant bellowed, "He has disrespected the crown. I order you to go out and confiscate one-half of his lands."

"Yes, Sire, but are there any charges?" his servant replied. "Any violations of law?"

"I am the law," the tyrant said. "Now begone and do as I say."

That is the story of President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14237 issued on March 14 and directed against the Paul Weiss law firm. The president noted in the order that a partner of the firm had been a prosecutor in the Office of Special Counsel that investigated and prosecuted those who assaulted the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 

Trump also noted that a lawyer of Paul Weiss left that firm and joined the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and participated in the criminal case against him that resulted in his conviction by a jury. Trump claimed that Paul Wiess "discriminates against its own employees on the basis of race and other categories."

The president did not mention that the managing partner of Paul Weiss is a prominent Democratic donor who had supported both Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.

As a result of these transgressions, Trump ordered that all government agencies "shall take appropriate steps to terminate any contract to the maximum extent permitted by law" of any entity that does business with Paul Weiss. That meant that the federal government would cease doing business with any of Paul Weiss’s clients. Thus, the law firm would at once lose a huge number of its clients, resulting in the lay-offs of hundreds of lawyers and staff members − a killing blow to the firm.

Many lawyers in the Paul Weiss law firm and other firms urged the managing partner, Brad Karp to sue the Trump administration for this patently illegal abuse of power. Karp inquired if other firms would join with Paul Weiss in the suit. There were none. 

Karp then decided that the best course of action was to attempt to negotiate a settlement with Trump. Karp was pilloried for his decision. Nevertheless, he met with the president and came away with a "settlement." He was widely criticized for capitulating to Trump. Yet, looking carefully at the "settlement," Karp gave away little and saved his law firm. 

Paul Weiss, under the agreement, would commit $40 million in pro bono legal work for such subjects as helping veterans, fighting antisemitism, promoting fairness in the judicial system, and the like − much of what the law firm is already doing. In addition, the law firm agreed to "follow the law" regarding hiring and promotion practices − again, what the law firm is doing.   

Karp was the modern-day Dutch boy who put his thumb in the dyke and saved the town. But that is not the end of the story. 

There are other law firms whose clients receive federal funds that have represented those clients in suits against the federal government or that have otherwise offended President Trump. They include Covington & Burling, Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, Skadden & Arps, and several others. These law firms have brought pro bono actions against the federal government or have employed lawyers who have provided legal services in the Trump criminal cases. The president has promised that he is not finished with "reforming the legal system."

We can’t let the next law firm that is attacked go it alone. Now is the time for law firms to stand up, for bar associations to stand up. The message must be that the government cannot bar access by clients to legal counsel, that no government has the power to dictate by executive order a punishment without notice and an opportunity to be heard, and that without respect for the rule of law, we are lost as a nation.

These messages must ring in the ears of those in power. That is a "settlement" we must seek.

Robert Newman, a Cincinnati attorney, lives in Hyde Park.