Did Paul, Weiss Partners Seriously Debate Running The Firm’s Business Past Stephen Miller?
A sweeping New York Times investigation published the weekend of August 2, and analyzed in the legal press, reconstructed how the elite law firm Paul, Weiss chose to strike a deal with the White House rather than litigate against an executive order targeting it — an order issued because the firm had employed attorneys involved in investigations of the president and represented his opponents. To make the order disappear, the firm agreed to restrict its diversity practices and provide roughly $40 million in pro bono services aligned with administration priorities. Reporting indicates the firm subsequently pushed out and paid off its first openly transgender partner and saw multiple high-profile departures. The episode is a leading example of legal professionals and major institutions accommodating executive pressure in ways that critics argue legitimize retaliation against the bar and weaken the independence of the legal profession, a key pillar of the rule of law.