Paul, Weiss shocked the world of Biglaw in March when they became the first — though not the last — firm to bend a knee 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. Since then, the firm has been experiencing the consequences of their actions — the deal with Trump keeps getting worse, there’ve been congressional investigations, client concerns, and so many lawyers bailing on the firm to distance themselves from the craven capitulation.
Over the last few days, the talent loss at Paul, Weiss has seen a noticeable uptick. On Friday, Damian Williams, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced he was leaving the cowardly Paul, Weiss. Williams’s new Biglaw home? Jenner & Block — one of the four Biglaw firm fighting the Trump Biglaw executive orders in court. And… that tells you pretty much everything you need to know about what Williams thinks about making a deal with Trump.
But that isn’t the only noteworthy recent partner departure. Three litigation partners: Melissa Zappala, Rush Atkinson (who worked on the Mueller investigation), and Kyle Smith are dipping from Paul, Weiss and heading to the new litigation boutique Dunn Isaacson Rhee.
Dunn Isaacson Rhee was recently formed by four now-former Paul, Weiss partners looking to practice law free from the shadow of the Trump deal. In addition to the seven partners, three associates — Erica Spevack, Lyle Gruby, and Leah Hibbler — have joined Dunn Isaacson Rhee. And the firm is reportedly recruiting even more lawyers to join their ranks.
That’s… a lot of litigation talent loss at Paul, Weiss. It’s almost like showing the world you aren’t willing to defend the rule of law in court is a bad business decision for a major law firm.
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].
