Bending the Knee – Toobin on the Trump Executive Orders

What happens when the President of the United States declares war on specific law firms? In a move described as "literally without precedent" , the Trump administration unleashed executive orders targeting major firms like Paul Weiss and Perkins Coie—not for illegal activity, but for perceived political offenses. The sanctions threatened to revoke security clearances, bar lawyers from federal buildings, and cancel government contracts for the firms' clients.

In this episode of New Law Order, hosts Joel Cohen and John Morley sit down with legal analyst and author Jeffrey Toobin to dissect this constitutional crisis and the industry’s fractured response. While some firms litigated and won, others "capitulated," agreeing to multi-million dollar settlements to make the problem go away. Was this a necessary move to save their firms from an "existential threat" resembling a run on the bank? Or was it, as Toobin suggests, a sacrifice of principle to protect partner profits?

Guest: Jeffrey Toobin is a staff writer for The New Yorker, a senior legal analyst for CNN, and the author of several best-selling books, including The Nine and The Oath.

Premium subscribers on Apple Podcasts get early access to upcoming episodes and occasional subscriber-only content. For more conversations with the titans changing the legal business, subscribe to New Law Order. For a lawyer CLE version of this interview and other legal insights, visit www.talksonlaw.com.