'Turmoil': Attorneys bail on prestigious law firm that caved to Trump

A venerated law firm in New York was one of many to cut a deal to change its policies at the direction of President Donald Trump — and now lawyers are quitting in droves, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

And it has "left the firm in turmoil."

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, a law firm that has operated since 1792, "already was facing troubles, including imminent attorney departures, before its April 11 deal with the White House in which it avoided a punitive executive order by pledging at least $100 million of pro bono work to support the president’s priorities," said the report.

However, the deal "now is pushing more lawyers to leave, people familiar with the matter said, spurred by anger that the firm capitulated to Trump instead of fighting back against an administration campaign that many in the industry believe to be unconstitutional."

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“Departures can be tough,” said a spokesman, who added, “Some attrition is normal and expected; it is part of the typical rhythm of a successful firm” — and that Cadwalader gained five new partners and is still on track for a strong year.

Trump has attempted to bend law firms to his will, focusing in particular on firms that have represented clients opposing him or the Republican Party in past cases, with a series of executive orders to investigate them for diversity hiring practices, review their security clearances, and prohibit them from government contracts and federal buildings.

The anger at law firms and other institutions caving to Trump's threats to use the might of the government against them extends to many other firms; 500 attorneys at another firm that cut a deal with Trump, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, revolted against management. Meanwhile, a group of students at Georgetown Law has tracked which law firms have cut the deals in a public list that new graduates can use to reject them for job applications.

Not every targeted law firm has gone to Trump to cut a deal. Some, like Perkins Coie, have sued to overturn the executive orders targeting them, with federal judges largely finding them in violation of the Constitution.