Paul Weiss Chair Says Deal with Trump Adheres to Firms Principles

The chairman of Paul Weiss sought to reassure employees at the giant law firm that the deal it reached with President Trump was consistent with principles that the 150-year-old firm has long stood by.On Thursday evening, Mr.Karp sent a firm-wide email, detailing the agreement he had reached with Mr.

Trump, which allowed the firm to escape an executive order that could have cost it significant business.The order, part of a broader retribution campaign against law firms, threatened to suspend the law firm’s security clearances, which would have made it virtually impossible for Paul Weiss to represent clients in cases involving the federal government.In the email to the firm, which was viewed by The New York Times, Mr.Karp said that in reaching an agreement with Mr.

Trump, he really just “reaffirmed” the firm’s statement of principles outlined in 1963 by one of Paul Weiss’s original named partners, Judge Simon H.Rifkind.“The commitments reaffirmed today are consistent with Judge Simon H.

Rifkind’s 1963 Statement of Firm Principles,” which states, among other things, that “we believe in maintaining, by affirmative efforts, a membership of partners and associates reflecting a wide variety of religious, political, ethnic and social backgrounds,” Mr.Karp wrote in the email.Despite Mr.

Karp’s assurances, the deal between Paul Weiss and the White House was causing concern among the broader legal community that large law firms were capitulating to Mr.Trump’s demands instead of fighting them in court.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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