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Kirkland And Simpson Turned To Major Trump Fundraiser Before Bending A Knee
No wonder they capitulated to Trump. The post Kirkland And Simpson Turned To Major Trump Fundraiser Before Bending A Knee appeared first on Above the Law.
By now, followers of the legal industry — and even those outside — are aware that a number of Biglaw firms decided to capitulate to the threats of Donald Trump rather than defend the rule of law. We may never know exactly how that sausage was made — what combination of greed, self-interest, apathy, naivety, and pragmatism came together at each firm that led them to make these terrible deals. But there are some clues about what went on.
Like the fact that in the run up to bending a knee, both Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher paid lobbyists with strong ties to Donald Trump to advise them. As reported by Law.com:
Kirkland & Ellis and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett each turned to lobbying powerhouse Ballard Partners for “advice related to employment practices” as they were forming a deal with the White House, according to new lobbying disclosures. Kirkland and Simpson Thacher each paid Ballard $100,000 for lobbying work on their firm’s behalf in the first quarter of this year, according to the new Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.
The registered lobbyists for Kirkland and Simpson included Brian Ballard, who founded Ballard Partners and was a top fundraiser for President Donald Trump, as well as partners Justin Sayfie and Sylvester Lukis.
As part of their deals with the administration, both Kirkland and Simpson also settled the EEOC investigations into their DEI programs.
No wonder they inked deals with Trump. Much like AI, when you put garbage in, you get garbage out. But even outside the analogy, it also underscores the amount of money and effort the firms put in to taking the cowardly way out.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. 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 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post Kirkland And Simpson Turned To Major Trump Fundraiser Before Bending A Knee appeared first on Above the Law.
