Washington — President Trump announced Friday that the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom agreed to provide more than $100 million in pro bono work for initiatives backed by his administration.
The agreement makes Skadden Arps the second major firm to reach a deal with Mr. Trump amid a recent blitz of executive orders targeting law firms that have employed his purported political opponents. The orders issued by the president have focused on the firms Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale.
All three of those firms have filed federal lawsuits challenging the executive orders as a violation of the First Amendment. A federal judge in Washington blocked parts of Mr. Trump’s executive order against Perkins Coie earlier this month.
While Mr. Trump earlier in the month issued an order going after a fourth firm, Paul, Weiss, it was rescinded after the international firm agreed to provide $40 million in free legal services to support causes backed by the administration.
The president said in a statement posted to Truth Social that in addition to providing $100 million in pro bono work, the firm will not engage in “illegal DEI discrimination and preferences” and work with an outside counsel to advise it on employment practices.
Mr. Trump also said Skadden Arps “will not deny representation to clients, such as members of politically disenfranchised groups, who have not historically received legal representation from major National Law Firms, including in pro bono matters, and in support of non-profits, because of the personal political views of individual lawyers.”
The White House said Skadden Arps approached the administration “and declared the Firm’s strong commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession.”
Jeremy London, the firm’s executive partner, said in a statement distributed by Mr. Trump that it is “pleased to have achieved a successful agreement with President Trump and his Administration. We engaged proactively with the President and his team in working together constructively to reach this agreement. The Firm looks forward to continuing our productive relationship with President Trump and his Administration. We firmly believe that this outcome is in the best interests of our clients, our people, and our Firm.”
The executive orders targeting the law firms are among a number of actions taken by Mr. Trump since he returned to the White House that have gone after his perceived enemies. He revoked the security clearances of former Vice President Kamala Harris, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other top Biden administration officials, as well as others who have been critical of him, last week. Mr. Trump also pulled the security details for Dr. Anthony Fauci and retired Gen. Mark Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Trump and Biden administrations.
The law firm-related orders take issue with the work they have performed and the lawyers previously on their payrolls. In the directive targeting Perkins Coie, Mr. Trump attacked the firm for representing Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign and hiring a research firm that retained a former British spy, Christopher Steele, who produced the infamous “Steele Dossier.”
The president’s order attacking Jenner & Block singles out the firm for hiring Andrew Weissmann, who worked with former special counsel Robert Mueller on his investigation into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election. Weissmann left the firm in 2021. It also took issue with Jenner & Block’s work on a challenge to Mr. Trump’s executive order that seeks to strip federal funds from medical institutions that provide gender-affirming care to minors, among other lawsuits.