Simpson Attorney Quits After Firm Quits On Rule Of Law

The Biglaw Sorting Hat continues dividing firms between Gryffindor and Slytherin, with a handful of firms fighting back against White House attempts to undercut business through executive order or signing amicus briefs in defense of those firms, and an unfortunately larger segment welcoming the Death Eaters as liberators. Keep track of who’s who here.

At the cost of mixing pop culture metaphors, it’s a fool’s bargain to sign on with Trump since he’s already publicly shifted the terms of the original deal like Darth Vader in Empire and started describing the pro bono commitment the firms thought they were making as a blank check to perform work for the Trump administration — and even for him personally. And yet, with full knowledge that the deal is getting worse all the time, five more firms signed up to do free work for Trump “beyond” his time in the White House. One presumes they plan to breach that illegal agreement the moment he’s gone, but merely committing to it sends a chilling message that the firms will promise literally anything to appease Trump… which must be EXCITING news for any client wondering how quickly the firm will throw them under the bus to preserve its status with the administration.

One of the recent spate of collaborators is Simpson Thacher, and one of its attorneys wasted no time severing ties with the sinking ship. Los Angeles associate Siunik Moradian resigned over email on Friday according to Bloomberg Law News:

“By capitulating today, Simpson Thacher joins several other historic, powerful, influential and well-resourced law firms in bending the knee and kissing the ring of authoritarianism,” Moradian said in the email, viewed by Bloomberg Law.

Firms signing on with MAGALand are experiencing a run of “Loud Quitting.” A Skadden associate quickly called out her firm over the deal. Paul Weiss’s pro bono chief left to pursue REAL pro bono as opposed to free DOJ contract work. Willkie Farr’s longest-serving lawyer quit over his firm’s deal. But these public exits are only the tip of the spear. Most lawyers can’t leave their job without another lined up, so expect to see the real talent drain over the coming weeks. And partners can’t port a book of business without ensuring smooth continuity, so those lawyers probably won’t start moving for another quarter.

But it’s going to happen.

“Associates are talking about this. Law students are talking about it,” Moradian said. “It’s frustrating if the voice of attorneys’—at large—opinion on this topic are these really sanitized statements by the head of these law firms that, quite frankly, are not taking any of this nearly seriously enough,” he said.

Some clients have also told us they want no part of a platform beholden to Trump’s whims. Many more are silently thinking the same thing. While many corporate clients cry out for lawyers to protect them from haphazard trade policy, Trump is saying he’s going to make the firms negotiate tariff deals for him for free. It’s far too risky for a client to have to constantly worry that their own firm values its relationship with the administration over them. And when clients go, partners go with them.

[Chair Alden] Millard defended the deal as a “strategic decision” in his Friday email. “We know and understand that this development may weigh heavily on some of you and that you may not agree with the path we have taken,” he said.

By “strategic” this isn’t so much 3D chess as it’s “getting rolled by a hustler in Washington Square Park,” but it is at least “a decision.”

Simpson Thacher Lawyer Quits as Firm ‘Capitulates’ to Trump [Bloomberg Law News]

Earlier: Biglaw Is Under Attack. Here’s What The Firms Are Doing About It.
‘Pray I Don’t Alter It Any Further’: What Darth Vader Should Teach Law Firms About Settling With Trump
Five Top Biglaw Firms Pledge Their Allegiance To Trump, Promising To Provide Legal Services ‘Beyond’ His Time In The White House

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter or Bluesky if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

The post Simpson Attorney Quits After Firm Quits On Rule Of Law appeared first on Above the Law.