In March, Paul Weiss received the inglorious honor of being the first (but not the last) Biglaw firm to surrender to Donald Trump to get out from under an onerous Executive Order designed to extract a financial penalty for being affiliated with cases and causes that displeased the president. Now, Paul Weiss partner and former Homeland Security Secretary under Barack Obama Jeh Johnson is leaving his Biglaw home.
Paul Weiss Chair Brad Karp said of the move, “I am incredibly grateful to have been partners with Jeh throughout my career and I thank Jeh immensely for both the contributions he has made to the legal profession both inside and outside Paul, Weiss.”
Curiously, Johnson, a Columbia Law School alum, will be starting a new role as co-chair of Columbia University’s Board of Trustees.
“I am retiring from Paul Weiss and intend to devote significant time and energy to Columbia,” Johnson said. “Paul Weiss has been my private law practice home off and on for over 40 years. I will miss my colleagues there and appreciate the loyalty and support they have shown me over the years.”
That’s very much giving out from the frying pan and into the fire.
Columbia is under a microscope by the Trump administration for its handling of antisemitism complaints by Jewish students, and, as a result, Trump cut $400 million in federal grants and contracts. But unlike some of its Ivy League colleagues, Columbia agreed to several of the Trump administration’s demands. Columbia recently announced it was laying off 180 staffers as a result of the funding shortfall.
Perhaps Johnson’s new role signals the time is nigh for a different strategy.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
