Major law firms known as the Surrendergate Nine pledged nearly a billion dollars in free legal work to the Trump administration. The firms experienced attrition and client losses while portraying limited exceptions as proof that they remained commercially viable. Reporting later revealed that Kirkland and Paul Weiss are representing the Commerce Department without payment, likely under pro bono arrangements tied to their pledges; Skadden's status remains unclear. The free government work raises concerns that the firms felt compelled to provide unpaid services to maintain favor with the administration, contradicting prior assertions about the limits and enforceability of the deals.
Ever since the Surrendergate Nine capitulated to the Trump administration, pledging nearly a billion dollars worth of free legal work, the firms have bent over backward to shrug it off as no big deal. As the months dragged on, and the firms lost more talent and more clients, stories started cropping up suggesting that the firms viewed the deals as unenforceable all along and that it's business as usual over there.
The New York Times reported last week that Kirkland and Skadden were doing trade work for the Commerce Department, but couldn't confirm if they were getting paid for it. Now the Times can confirm that Kirkland and Paul Weiss are repping the Commerce Department for free, presumably as part of their pro bono payola deals. Skadden's situation is still up in the air.
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