Cadwalader Thinks It’s Outsmarted Trump On Their Pro Bono Tithe. We’ll See About That.

There’s been a lot of talk (Opens in a new window)in Biglaw circles about what, exactly, the nine firms that bent a knee (Opens in a new window)to Donald Trump — and promised nearly a billion dollars in pro bono services — will have to do in order to earn their peace(Opens in a new window) with the administration. Because the terms of the deals are constantly changing — much like Lando Calrissian’s deal with Darth Vader(Opens in a new window). MAGA types are already crowing(Opens in a new window) about how they’ll force the firms(Opens in a new window) in question to do their legal bidding: working on coal leases, negotiating trade deals, and defending police brutality cases are all on the table and probably not at all what the firms thought they’d be doing when they made the agreement.

Some firms have tried to set boundaries (Opens in a new window)on the work they’ll do on behalf of Trump (we’ll see how that pans out for them). But according to reporting by(Opens in a new window) Bloomberg Law, Cadwalader (who owes $100 million in pro bono work(Opens in a new window)) thinks they’ve come up with a plan to avoid the most unsavory work. Nicholas Gravante, co-chair of Cadwalader’s global litigation group, reportedly thinks the firm can work on appeals on behalf of Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez.

“If we can deploy some talented attorneys to assist Eric in that office, that is something I am confident would be viewed as meeting the obligations,” according to Gravante. “If our associates had the experience making the argument on the brief, that would be beneficial to the young lawyers. For some, that might be the first appeal they argue.” In Gravante’s mind it’s a win-win… if he can get everyone on-board.

Because here’s the real low-key hilarious bit — especially to folks who have been following all the travails of the Order of the Obsequious — Cadwalader hasn’t run this plan by Trump OR THE BROOKLYN DA’s office. Talking to the press about a proposal no one has actually agreed to yet is definitely a vibe, and it’s giving big pleasedon’tcallmeoutonmyBS energy. But Gravante is projecting confidence, saying, “I don’t know of an approval process but I’m confident they would see it the same way.”

The other interesting tidbit in Bloomberg’s report is how damn long it will take for the firm to pay off their loyalty to Trump:

Cadwalader’s size means it has the most restricted pro bono budget. Each of the firm’s lawyers spent an average of about 13 hours on pro bono work in 2023, according to American Lawyer data. That compares with 37 at Kirkland, 78 at Willkie and 115 at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Cadwalader’s pro bono work last year totaled just $5 million. Even if the firm devoted the entirety of that amount to Trump-approved causes, it would take 20 years to fulfill its $100 million obligation. Gravante said the firm is prepared to take that amount of time if necessary.

Well, I also bet they’re hoping it’ll take a lot less than 20 years for the administration’s priorities to change.

But even with this pennies in a bucket plan to pay off Trump, it will still have a tremendous impact on the work the firm will do. “The composition of pro bono work may change because we will encourage people to do pro bono work for more conservative causes,” Gravante said. “If we were doing work for criminal defendants who could not afford representation to ease the burden on legal aid societies, now we’d be doing it for the district attorney’s office.” So even if this is the least offensive way Cadwalader can work on behalf of Trump, it still signals a detrimental change in what public interest work is getting funded going forward.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast(Opens in a new window), and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer(Opens in a new window). AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1(Opens in a new window) or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.(Opens in a new window)

The post Cadwalader Thinks It’s Outsmarted Trump On Their Pro Bono Tithe. We’ll See About That. appeared first on Above the Law.