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Four or five firms could soon agree to deals that would be unveiled as a package, in an escalation of the president’s crackdown on an industry that has drawn his ire.
- April 10, 2025Updated 6:07 p.m. ET
President Trump is planning to announce new deals with several of the nation’s top law firms requiring them to offer legal support for some of his favored causes, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
In a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Mr. Trump said four or five firms, which he did not name, would reach deals with the administration, each committing to do $125 million worth of legal work on issues he supports. That amount would eclipse the amount of pro bono work other firms agreed to provide under earlier agreements.
Unlike earlier deals that Mr. Trump announced one at a time — each drawing condemnation within the firms and across the legal world — the president is expected to unveil several deals together as one collective concession from the industry, the people said. They, like others in this story, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the private negotiations.
While it is unclear which firms are next, Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have all had discussions with Mr. Trump’s advisers in recent days, the people with knowledge of the matter said. Those firms, all top 20 firms by revenue, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Mr. Trump’s push for the latest flurry of agreements represents an escalation of his crackdown on an industry that has drawn his ire for its role in seeking to hold him and his allies to account or opposing him politically.
Mr. Trump started going after firms last month by issuing financially punitive executive orders. Although judges have found that the orders are likely unconstitutional, Mr. Trump has continued to impose them on some firms, while his advisers strike deals with other firms that agree to donate time for issues like combating antisemitism.
