Big Law Bends The Knee To Trump | Rachel Cohen | TMR
Quick Read
Summary
Takeaways
- ❖Trump's administration issued targeted executive orders against law firms representing political opponents, kneecapping their ability to practice.
- ❖Paul Weiss was the first major law firm to capitulate to Trump's demands, possibly influenced by its client Apollo Global Wealth Management, whose head Leon Black was deeply implicated in the Epstein files.
- ❖The Department of Justice (DOJ) has seen a significant decline in hiring standards, with positions now filled by individuals willing to make legally dubious arguments for political ends.
- ❖The Federalist Society provides a highly organized pipeline for right-wing lawyers, a structure that the left lacks, contributing to ideological capture of the judiciary.
- ❖Elite legal institutions often prioritize maintaining 'okay terms with everyone' and 'class solidarity' over standing up for justice, fearing social or professional repercussions.
- ❖The concept of 'originalist thinking' in law is framed as an incoherent legal theory that serves ideological goals rather than objective legal interpretation.
- ❖The guest, Rachel Cohen, resigned from her law firm after a power struggle over her social media posts criticizing the 'genocide' in October 2023, demonstrating personal resistance to institutional pressure.
- ❖Lack of community and productive job opportunities can lead individuals, often described as 'losers,' into roles within punitive organizations like ICE, which is framed as a 'jobs program for losers'.
- ❖Funding arts and community programs could serve as an anti-fascist measure by offering fulfilling alternatives to roles in oppressive systems.
Insights
1Trump's Weaponization of Executive Power Against Law Firms
Donald Trump issued targeted executive orders and actions against specific law firms that represented pro bono clients or the Democratic Party. These orders prevented firms from partnering with the government, obtaining security clearances, and allegedly barred them from federal courthouses, effectively kneecapping their ability to practice law. This created immense pressure on firms to cease representing clients disfavored by the administration.
In February of 2025 (a year ago), Donald Trump started issuing targeted executive orders and actions against specific law firms that had represented usually pro bono clients, sometimes paying clients like the Democratic Party that he hates. He would basically enter these orders that said that the law firms couldn't partner with the government anymore, couldn't get security clearances... it really like kneecapped their ability to practice.
2Paul Weiss's Capitulation and Epstein Files Connection
Paul Weiss was the first major law firm to 'bend the knee' to Trump's demands, withdrawing from representing certain clients. The guest speculates this decision might have been influenced by the firm's chair, Brad Karp, being implicated in the Epstein files, or more directly, by pressure from a major client, Apollo Global Wealth Management, whose head Leon Black was heavily featured in the Epstein files. This suggests that financial and reputational vulnerabilities can force elite firms to compromise their legal principles.
Paul Weiss was the first law firm to kind of bend the knee. The other law firms that had been targeted earlier fought in court... Even if Brad Karp wasn't sitting around thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I'm in the Epstein files.' They represent Apollo really really closely... and it's run by Leon Black and he is in the Epstein files... all of these decisions were definitely impacted by the kind of consulting firms, VC firms, private equity that pay these big law rates and what the clients wanted them to do.
3Hollowing Out of the Department of Justice
The Department of Justice (DOJ), once a highly competitive destination for top law graduates, is now being systematically undermined. The quality of hires has drastically declined, with positions filled by individuals whose primary qualification is ideological loyalty and a willingness to make legally questionable arguments, such as those that might lead to contempt of court, for political ends. This shift threatens the integrity and future of the federal legal system.
The infrastructure of law is completely crumbling... The DOJ is especially relevant. Like that used to be one of the most competitive jobs that you could get after graduating from a prestigious law firm... And now the people in DOJ are like on Twitter like DM me your resume. Like as long as you hate Mexicans, you know, hit us up and we're in, right? And so I think that it's going to be impossible to recover from.
4The Federalist Society's Organized Right-Wing Legal Pipeline
The Federalist Society, founded by figures like Leonard Leo, has created an incredibly organized and effective pipeline for installing right-leaning individuals with 'originalist thinking' into judicial positions. This pipeline is so entrenched and powerful that it dominates legal discourse in law schools, and there is no comparable organized left-leaning equivalent, leading to an imbalance in legal and judicial appointments.
The most important thing to be aware of is the Federalist Society, which was founded by Leonard Leo... The whole point of it was to get people installed as judges who had ideas of like originalist thinking... there's this incredibly organized pipeline on the right that I don't think there is a leftleaning equivalent of.
5Elite Lawyers Prioritize Class Solidarity Over Justice
Within elite legal circles, there's a strong desire to maintain 'okay terms with everyone' and a sense of 'class solidarity.' This often prevents lawyers from taking strong stances for justice, especially when it might alienate powerful individuals or disrupt their social networks. This institutional inertia and fear of social repercussions contribute to the legal system's failure to address systemic injustices effectively.
There's such a desire to be on okay terms with everyone... I think that there's a lot of really rich people that are like, well, I could stand up for the right thing, but what if I bump into that guy on Martha's Vineyard next year? ...It's like lawyer solidarity, but like class solidarity within lawyer solidarity.
Bottom Line
The lack of robust community and productive job opportunities in society directly contributes to the recruitment of individuals into punitive and often fascist-leaning organizations like ICE.
This suggests that the rise of authoritarian enforcement agencies is not solely driven by ideology, but also by societal failures to provide meaningful alternatives for personal fulfillment and economic stability, particularly for those who feel marginalized or 'losers'.
Investing in well-funded arts programs, vocational training, and civilian climate corps could serve as a powerful anti-fascist strategy by offering constructive, community-oriented job programs that provide purpose and belonging, thereby reducing the pool of recruits for oppressive forces.
The pretense of objectivity in the American legal system, especially in a common law system built on layers of interpretation, is a harmful illusion that allows for ideologically driven 'creative interpretations' without accountability.
This 'clinician' approach to law strips it of its humanity and moral imperative, enabling lawyers to justify unjust outcomes by claiming adherence to an objective, scientific formula that doesn't exist. It discourages a justice-oriented approach.
Legal education and public discourse should explicitly challenge the myth of legal objectivity, encouraging lawyers and citizens to center justice and ethical outcomes in legal practice, rather than blindly adhering to institutional norms that may perpetuate harm.
Key Concepts
Originalist Thinking
A legal theory advocating for interpreting the Constitution based on the original intent of its founders. The guest frames this as a 'completely incoherent legal theory' used to advance specific ideological agendas rather than objective legal principles.
Critical Legal Studies
A movement from the 1970s that critiqued the idea of law as a neutral, objective system, emphasizing the need to consider the social, economic, and political outcomes and contexts of legal decisions. It served as a precursor to Critical Race Theory.
Class Solidarity within Law
The idea that elite lawyers and legal professionals, despite political differences, often prioritize maintaining their social and professional standing and relationships within their class over taking strong moral or political stances that might disrupt these connections.
Lessons
- Challenge the notion of 'objective truth' in the legal system, especially when it is used to justify unjust outcomes or maintain institutional power structures.
- Support and advocate for alternative pipelines and organizations that promote justice-oriented legal practice, as opposed to the ideologically driven Federalist Society model.
- Recognize that the hollowing out of government institutions like the DOJ creates opportunities for ideological capture; advocate for merit-based, principled appointments.
- Consider how societal failures to provide meaningful job and community programs contribute to the recruitment into punitive organizations like ICE, and support initiatives that offer constructive alternatives (e.g., arts, vocational training).
Notable Moments
Rachel Cohen's viral confrontation with ICE official Greg Bovino in a Minneapolis Speedway.
This moment exemplifies direct, on-the-ground activism against figures representing oppressive government agencies, highlighting the personal courage required and the public's desire to see such officials challenged. It also underscores the dehumanizing nature of such work, as Bovino was described as 'sad' and lacking personality, reinforcing the 'jobs program for losers' thesis.
Quotes
"Nobody's coming out like, 'No, the finance attorneys that work at Scatteren Ararps, like they really really need your support in this moment.' posting their GoFundMes."
"There's nothing that the Ivy League law schools want to talk about quite so much as like is it stupid to be going to law school right now? And the answer is yes, but it was stupid before, too."
"The law is not theoretical elite lawyers help roll back, right? Like people die when abortion is criminalized. They just do."
"It's not that I think there's some secret cabal. It's that I think that there's a lot of really rich people that are like, well, I could stand up for the right thing, but what if I bump into that guy on Martha's Vineyard next year?"
"If you don't if you're if you choose not to be a Nazi, we're not going to make fun of your height, but if you choose to be a Nazi, you're going to get your height make fun made fun of. I mean, that's that's the reality of the situation."
"ICE is a jobs program for losers. like it is offering this idea and I if we want to be a little bit empathetic about it... you have all of these people who are in fact losers who have no kind of community that's offered to them."
"Maybe instead of the takeaway from all of these like nepo babies being super into the arts. the the takeaway perhaps is not the nepo baby takeaway and it is more that given unlimited resources to pursue what you're actually interested in like human beings are always going to choose art for the most part."
Q&A
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