The Curious Case Of Sullivan & Cromwell’s Relationship With Donald Trump

Last month, faced with an Executive Order — described by the right as designed to bankrupt the firm — Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp kissed the ring of Donald Trump. It was the first deal between a Biglaw firm and the Trump administration, and forever changed the relationship between the biggest and most powerful law firms and the creep of authoritarianism.

But how exactly did it happen?

It’s been widely reported that, in addition to Paul Weiss’s Karp, Bill Burck of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan represented PW during the negotiations, and Trump personal counsel Boris Epshteyn was involved. And, curiously, Bob Giuffra, co-chair of Sullivan & Cromwell, was also part of the negotiation.

S&C took on Donald Trump’s criminal appeal (to much internal strife), so there’s been speculation that’s how Giuffra got roped into selling out Biglaw. But according to reporting by Law.com, S&C says Giuffra was brought into the matter by a PW partner:

According to a source familiar with the matter, a Paul Weiss partner reached out to a friend, Kramer Levin partner Richard Farley, soon after Trump signed the executive order against Paul Weiss. In those discussions, the Paul Weiss partner—whose identity is not clear—asked for Farley’s help in securing a meeting with the White House. (Farley at one point was considered a contender to be Trump’s choice to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission.) Farley offered to contact Giuffra, but only after the Paul Weiss partner confirmed with him that Karp had approved the request to ask for Giuffra’s help, the source said.

However, Karp says he was “unaware of Mr. Giuffra’s involvement in this matter prior to March 19th,” which was when the negotiations between PW and Trump began.

Patriots CEO Robert Kraft was also involved in the March 19th deal for reasons that remain unclear. But once Trump, Karp and Giuffra got to talking they hashed out the Very Important™ national security and discrimination issues that were the facial justification for the Paul Weiss EO. Just kidding. They talked about golf. During the March 19 Oval Office meeting between Trump and Karp, the White House called Giuffra, who was in New York at the time, to connect him to the meeting by phone. The president asked who was the better lawyer between the two. Giuffra responded by saying he was the better golfer, and then Karp, Trump and Giuffra proceeded to talk about golf for about 15 minutes, according to a source familiar with the events.

Karp, Burck, Giuffra and Epshteyn were left by Trump to hammer out the terms of the deal. And like every deal that’s totally legit, not at all sketchy and not subject to the whims of an egotistical bully, the actual deal remained unsigned.

The entire situation has left many wondering what role Giuffra really has in the administration. According to reports, Giuffra also answered questions from his partners about his role in the PW deal once that became public. But he says that the first deal was the only he was involved in.

A Sullivan & Cromwell spokesperson said there’s been a “misunderstanding of the facts.” Giuffra has had no role in deal talks with firms besides Paul Weiss, the spokesperson said, and hasn’t known about any law firm executive order until they were issued.

“He had no knowledge of any law firm executive orders (including the Paul, Weiss Executive Order) before those orders became public, and no involvement in any of the other law firm resolutions except for Paul, Weiss,” the firm’s spokesperson said.

Also noteworthy is S&Cs silence on the EOs targeting Biglaw firms, and the chilling impact they’ve had on the industry.

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.

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