Trump's deals with big law firms could be 'unravelling': NYT reporter

[LetMyPeopleVote]

trump never honors his agreements/contracts and so this is not surprising
https://bsky.app/profile/morgfair.bsky.social/post/3lmxdazf2cs27

Link to tweet

However, it seems that Trump and his White House are taking a far more expansive view of the agreements and the Times reports that the administration could even try to force the firms to represent Trump or his allies in criminal cases free of charge.

"The emerging gap between what the firms initially thought they agreed to and what Mr. Trump says they can be used for shows how the deals did little to insulate them from his whims," the Times reports. "Further demands on the firms from Mr. Trump could raise the potential for conflicts with paying clients and could further fuel internal dissension."

This uncertainty is compounded by the fact that it's not known if the deals the firms reached with Trump were formal written agreements or handshake deals.

Harold Hongju Koh, a professor of international law at Yale Law School, tells the Times that he thinks that the firms did not properly understand the type of administration they were dealing with when they decided to cave to Trump's threats.

"They thought they made one-shot deals which they would fulfill,” he said. “But the administration seems to think that they have subjected these firms to indentured servitude.”

[Cha]

1. TY Kick

[BeerBarrelPolka]

2. How

How can prestigious law firms be this plain stupid? Do they not understand contracts? Something doesn't seem legit here to me.

[Irish_Dem]

5. What do you think is going on?

I said the same thing as you did down thread.

Are the attorneys from top law firms this stupid and gullible?

[BeerBarrelPolka]

7. Right?

We're talking law firms here that deal with the criminal mindset on a daily basis. They definitely know how people like trump operate, and they certainly know all about how deals are constructed.

Maybe the firms are really second guessing themselves and feeling some heat, or perhaps there's some other recourse or avenue they can pursue? I know as much about law as trump knows about the economy so I can't say much.

[Irish_Dem]

10. Yes why did they act in such a foolish way?

Yes I reject naivety as an explanation. Even if these are not criminal attorneys, even in civil or corporate
law there are bad actors and care must be taken when negotiating deals.
Trump has proven himself over and over to be a dark character.
The fact Trump was shaking down the law firms confirms that.

And a basic idea in law is to get everything in writing and spelled out clearly.
Even if you like and trust the other party.
Any one who has watched Judge Judy knows that.

Lawyers are all about negotiating deals. No matter the speciality, usually there
is some sort of negotiating going on. They do it every day.
What negotiate such a bad deal for themselves?

I think the answer is simple probably.
They were scared, greedy, lazy.

They thought they could take the easy way out.
Play dumb, take Trump at his word, shake hands.
Assume Trump would move on to the next victim.
Everyone would be happy,
Trump happy with the free legal hours.
Clients and law staff would stay calm and happy.

They were very wrong.
They are now indentured servants for the Trump Crime Syndicate.
Junior attorneys are not happy have to provide these free hours.
And clients and have no respect for such a law firm.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

14. Makes sense

[Blasphemer]

18. Also, there are powerful Fed Soc types who are partners at these firms. nt

[Irish_Dem]

20. True. But they just screwed themselves big time?

Even if they are pals with Trump.

I can just hear the Fed Soc partners assuring the other partners that they
are good friends with Trump. He won't screw them over.
It is just optics.
The joke is on them.

[Blasphemer]

23. They did. Everyone who trusts Trump gets screwed over. nt

[tishaLA]

22. George Conway said some of the firms, especially in NY

Do a lot of work in mergers and acquisitions, which often requires working with the federal government, so they figured that it was somehow worth it to make a deal with the devil for financial reasons.

But if they'd stuck together, what would the administration do? Just shut down mergers and acquisitions requiring federal approval altogether?

[Irish_Dem]

24. Yes but they were foolish not to get the terms spelled out clearly.

And now they are indentured servants for the Trump Crime Syndicate.

Yes I suppose if all the American law firms stood together, Trump would find
a way to shut them all down. The courts would not agree to this I imagine.

[EdmondDantes_]

32. My guess is they were hoping once Trump got his victory, he'd move on

Other than a few things, his attention span isn't very long. He did a lot of that in his first term. Like the redo of NAFTA that was pretty much nothing, but he got the photo op.

Turns out he's more vindictive this time. I don't know if it's that he has only true believers this time or if he's just meaner/more egotistical (as difficult as those seem)

[BeerBarrelPolka]

34. Good point

[Lovie777]

3. Putin 101...........

[Irish_Dem]

4. Are the top law firms stupid, lazy, incompetent cowards?

They didn't know Trump was a criminal, a psychopath?

We all saw some of his crimes on TV.
And we saw the trials on TV as well.

They didn't recognize a career criminal when they saw one?

They didn't get a written iron clad agreement?
A handshake with a psychopath was good enough?
With vague terms?

They didn't fight the illegal harassment against them?

Forget the big wealthy law firms.
You will do better with the attorney at the mall next to Penny's.

[BeerBarrelPolka]

8. Call

Lerner and Rowe

[Irish_Dem]

11. Are they TV attorneys?

[BeerBarrelPolka]

15. Yes

They advertise all the time here in Chicago, but I also think elsewhere.

[Irish_Dem]

19. Yes there are ambulance chaser ads on TV all the time.

Not heard of this firm.

[NoMoreRepugs]

28. I hear Dewey Cheatem and Howe are bending the knee too.

[Irish_Dem]

30. My long time favorite law firm.

[Raven123]

6. Right. Don't believe it. The firms have been exposed for their cowardice

Looking to save face.

[msongs]

9. greedyass attorneys not as smart as they thought. people with low morals fall to people w/NO morals lol

[PJMcK]

12. Lawyers!

Why would an intelligent attorney make a deal with Trump?!

What examples from his history show him to be an honest broker?

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind is one of the most successful and large law firms in the world yet they bowed their knee to Trump and guaranteed him millions of dollars worth of pro bono legal work. I have worked with Paul, Weiss for decades and my question to them is simple: What did you expect?

Quite pathetic. Lawyers should be fighting tooth and nail to maintain the Rule of Law but what we are seeing is acquiescence to a lawless totalitarian but these big law firms are taking the attitude of "go along to get along."

These lawyers are undercutting their entire existence and function. How weird.

[mcar]

13. Saw this on Nicole Wallace's show

The heads of these elite law firms cannot possibly be stupid enough to think they could get away with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge "deal" with the devil.

They deserve everything they get*.

*Not their poor, hardworking associates.

[choie]

16. They didn't understand the full implications of the extortion?

Bullshit.

[Jit423]

17. OK. lemme say this: O TOLD YOU SO!! Trump wants free legal service for life. He knows he is a criminal! nt

[no_hypocrisy]

21. I never understood how these firms could make an agreement w/ TSF.

Ethics. Conflicts of Interest. Inevitably, these firms would be adversaries with their standing clients.

[Torchlight]

25. Admit ot or not, these firms knew exactly who he was

They understood (and understand) his methods and his behavior. Anyone with open eyes does, and they have billions invested in owning their corner and dealing with (defense as well as prosecuting) with millions of bilable hours.

There were no handshake deals made, a few winks before signing maybe, but these firms are not stupid or naive to trust anyone's word alone, let alone his. The fiorms are duplicitous and self-serving, sure-- but that's inherent to most induistries in a market economy; but they did not have the wool pulled over thier heads.

[FloridaBlues]

27. The law firms should have known who they were dealing with , perhaps underneath some lawyers support him

Let this be a lesson for everyone, every institution thinking of bending the knee..don’t.

[JohnSJ]

29. Then those law firms are fucking idiots.

[WestMichRad]

31. Perhaps the big shot partners who decided to cave to TSF didn't expect

… the non-partner lawyers (those who do most of the work) to rebel and threaten to quit. If enough of the staff walks, the firm will be crippled.

That’s probably part of the dynamic that is prompting these law firms to rethink their decisions.

[louis-t]

33. All you other law firms please take notice.

HE DOESN'T HONOR ANY AGREEMENTS. Jeez.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

35. What prominent law firms and Lando Calrissian have in common

Lando Calrissian famously complained, “This deal keeps getting worse all the time.” How many law firms are saying the same thing about their Trump deals?
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lmzhvatdn22x

Remember when Lando Calrissian complained, in reference to his agreement with Darth Vader, “This deal keeps getting worse all the time”?

I wonder how many law firms are now saying the same thing about their deals with Trump

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/prominent-law-firms-lando-calrissian-common-rcna201726

In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Lando Calrissian struck an agreement with Darth Vader, which probably made sense to him at the time. In fact, Calrissian told Han Solo in the 1980 “Star Wars” movie that he had made a deal that would keep the Empire out of Cloud City “forever.”

As the Cloud City administrator soon learned, however, the Empire did not fully intend to follow through on its commitments, even if Calrissian held up his end of the bargain. As the film’s dramatic third act, Vader told his ostensible partner: “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”

As he realized that he had reached an agreement with someone he shouldn’t have trusted, Calrissian complained, “

This deal keeps getting worse all the time.”

.....

But as The New York Times reported, some of these same firms are finding, as Calrissian put it, that their deals keep getting worse all the time.

When some of the nation’s biggest law firms agreed to deals with President Trump, the terms appeared straightforward: In return for escaping the full force of his retribution campaign, the firms would do some free legal work on behalf of largely uncontroversial causes like helping veterans. Mr. Trump, it turns out, has a far more expansive view of what those firms can be called on to do.

Instead of working on anodyne causes, the firms are discovering that the president effectively believes that he sees their attorneys as his own. The Times’ report, which has not been independently verified by MSNBC or NBC News, added that Trump has suggested in recent days that he wants the firms to help him negotiate trade deals and possibly help revive the coal industry, too......

Harold Hongju Koh, a professor of international law at Yale Law School, told the Times, in reference to the firms, “They thought they made one-shot deals which they would fulfill. But the administration seems to think that they have subjected these firms to indentured servitude.”

Putting aside the question of whether the firms, like Calrissian, should’ve seen this coming, the broader question is whether the firms will do what Calrissian ultimately did and reverse course.

Indeed, it’s not my place to give the firms’ partners advice, but it is worth noting that if they didn’t enter into a legally binding contract with Trump, and they’re no longer pleased with the president’s demands and expectations, there’s nothing stopping them from joining the firms that have already decided to fight back.

I love the Star Wars analogy

[LetMyPeopleVote]

36. So embarrassingly predictable. The law firms are on step 3 of failing the Lando test.

This made me smile

Link to tweet