A New York Times investigation by Michael S. Schmidt and Jessica Silver-Greenberg examines how Paul Weiss — a firm long identified with civil rights litigation and, during Trump’s first term, with organized legal opposition to the administration — came to settle rather than fight when it was hit with a punitive executive order in March 2025. Chairman Brad Karp went to the White House and agreed to a deal involving tens of millions of dollars in pro bono work, a choice that stood out because several peer firms challenged similar orders in court and won injunctions, and that was followed by comparable deals from eight other firms. The Times argues the capitulation grew out of a long internal shift toward corporate and private equity business, and out of tensions between Karp and rainmaker Scott Barshay, who saw the firm’s activist reputation as a commercial liability and who eventually succeeded Karp as chairman.

(Read the full piece at NYTimes.com.)