Paul Weiss Caves

We talk about ongoing events here and there continue to be updates. The latest on the recent Paul Weiss post is that they caved. Way to go leading a big law firm with supposed liberal leanings! Pathetic. 

The Hill notes in its story on this that:

The Wall Street Journal reported that days later, the law firm was fired by a prominent client over concerns regarding Trump’s order.

I have visions of Dan Ackroyd in Driving Miss Daisy telling his mom about how supporting civil rights can lead to business problems.

I see from the media coverage that Paul Weiss seems to be -- understandably -- lying low and not commenting. Politico notes the Administration includes a sort of hostage statement:

“We are gratified that the President has agreed to withdraw the Executive Order concerning Paul, Weiss,” Karp said. “We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration.”

Anna Bower on Bluesky posted an internal Paul Weiss email sent to employees. It requests people "refrain from any social media postings" about the whole matter. It includes a promise to spend 40M on pro bono work involving "mutually agreed projects" with the Trump Administration. 

As NYT notes, "The agreement is a significant development in the retribution campaign." Yes.

Of course, there are reports that the agreement involves a promise to address DEI policies. It's useful to remember that DEI is fine. It stands for "diversity, equity, and inclusion" ("A" would be for "access"). 

The statement from Paul Weiss does not specifically toss the former employee under the bus that seemed to start this whole process. Trump, however, (mostly rightly) took the firm's cave as a full win. 

Another firm targeted by Trump was not as chickenshit and took him to court. Paul Weiss should continue to lose clients (would you trust them?) for this sort of cave. Others will make a business decision that a Trump-friendly firm is a good move.  

Rachel Cohen was willing to put her long career at Skadden Arps at risk to firmly meet the times like a true heroine. She was not satisfied with her firm (again, from Anna Bower on Bluesky; her legal reporting is now on my rotation):

When I went to law school and to Skadden, I did so in pursuit of agency. I was driven by a desire to be in rooms where decision-makers were, to get to play a role in things that mattered, because things felt so needlessly terrible. 

It never occurred to me that the people in those rooms might feel that they were powerless. 

I am forced to hope that our lack of response to the Trump administration's attacks on our peers, both those at other large firms and the many people in this country with far fewer resources, is rooted in feelings of fear and powerlessness, as opposed to tacit agreement or desire to maximize profit. 

I still hope that is true. But it has not yet been borne out.

Also in the news, to quote one article, "Columbia University has agreed to a list of demands by the Trump administration." I support that wording. Trump is a mob thug. He sets forth "demands."

I think we should try to mix the good with the bad. We cannot just talk about all the horrible things out there. So, this entry includes a reference to two different firms who reacted differently. We also need to talk about values. The DEI is fine link goes to my discussion defending it. 

Erin in the Morning has a recent entry on how "Eight Michigan Democrats Defect To Pass Anti-Trans Resolution," including from heavy blue districts. 

The good news that "one of the largest schisms" involves eight people. Democrats have repeatedly -- including in Congress -- refused to help the Republican effort to dehumanize trans people.

Those who give in will justify it as unfortunate necessities that are only modest compromises. Now is not the time to compromise with injustice and thuggery. I understand some people without power doing that. Paul Weiss doing it is pathetic.  

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Note: I stopped posting on Twitter though checked in now and then for such things as videos of a sports journalist who is not on Bluesky. 

Bluesky has not reached Twitter level and does not have the usefulness, including engagement, that I had pre-Elon Musk over there. There also are a few trolls and spammy accounts. 

Still, it's much better, including the lack of ads.