US law firm Paul Weiss fired by client over Trump executive order
By David Thomas
(Reuters) -A client of Paul Weiss has fired the U.S. law firm in a criminal case in New Jersey, citing U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order that targeted the firm over its political clients and its internal diversity policies.
Paul Weiss said in a New Jersey federal court filing on Wednesday that its client Steven Schwartz had “terminated” the firm as its defense counsel due to Trump’s March 14 order, which suspended security clearances held by Paul Weiss lawyers and restricted their access to government buildings and employees.
The move by Schwartz, the former chief legal officer of Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp, comes amid an escalating clash between the Republican president and major law firms.
Trump issued separate orders this month accusing Paul Weiss and another firm, Perkins Coie, of undermining elections through their past work for Democrats and by adopting allegedly discriminatory diversity policies.
Perkins Coie said in a lawsuit challenging the order that it had already lost or was at risk of losing at least seven clients and “significant revenue” due to Trump’s actions. The lawsuit said the executive order violated the firm’s rights under the U.S. Constitution.
Paul Weiss did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment on Wednesday’s filing, which asked a judge to allow Paul Weiss to withdraw from Schwartz’s case. Other attorneys for Schwartz did not respond to a similar request.
Asked about the filing, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said, “The Trump Administration is working efficiently to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government.” Fields said it was “absurd that a billion-dollar law firm is suing to retain its access to government perks and handouts,” referring to the lawsuit by Perkins Coie.
Schwartz was charged in 2019 and pleaded not guilty to violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in a bribery scheme in India. The Trump administration in February ordered a review of pending prosecutions under the foreign bribery law.
Wednesday’s filing said the Justice Department is assessing the next steps in the case, and Schwartz “is concerned that the firm’s continued representation of him may negatively affect his ability to obtain a favorable review of his case” or create conflicts of interest.
In addition to the executive orders against Paul Weiss and Perkins Coie, the White House last month issued a narrower order suspending security clearances for lawyers at Covington & Burling who represent Jack Smith, the U.S. special counsel who brought criminal charges against Trump in two cases.
On Monday the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sent demands to 20 major law firms for detailed information about their diversity initiatives and racial and gender demographics. Trump has ordered U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to work with the agency to investigate the diversity policies of large law firms that have business with the federal government.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington temporarily blocked parts of Trump’s order against Perkins Coie on March 12, finding the firm was likely to succeed in its lawsuit.
(Reporting by David Thomas; Editing by David Bario, Leslie Adler, Rod Nickel and Diane Craft)
