Skadden and the rest of the order of obsequiousness — that is, the nine Biglaw firms that capitulated to Donald Trump’s bullying to get out from under (or avoid entirely) unconstitutional Executive Orders designed to extract a harsh financial penalty from the firms — have gotten a fair amount of well-deserved criticism. The firms sold out the rule of law and promised nearly $1 billion in pro bono payola earmarked for conservative causes. The deals have had a chilling effect on all sorts of public interest causes — civil rights, voting rights, immigration, reproductive freedom — that *actually* need the pro bono services of Biglaw firms while these firms try to avoid catching the ire of the administration.
But Skadden appears to be bucking that trend. As reported by Bloomberg Law, the firm has taken on a pro bono client that runs afoul of Trump’s preferred immigration goals.
Skadden lawyers are representing a 38-year-old woman from Mexico who sued US Citizenship and Immigration Services on May 23 for denying her a visa for crime victims that would allow her to stay in the country. Monserrat Belen Arreola was denied the visa in 2023 during President Joe Biden’s administration, though Trump has stepped up efforts to remove undocumented immigrants from the US.
The representation is in partnership with the National Immigrant Justice Center, an organization that has felt the impact of Trump’s attack on Biglaw’s pro bono practices. As Lisa Koop, the group’s national director of legal services, wrote in a court filing, several of their usual partner firms “have suspended acceptance of new immigration matters due to messaging from the White House about pro bono involvement in immigration matters.”
The capitulation of Skadden and other major law firms to Trump’s demands sparked a wave of negative publicity. Many clients see the deals as a weakness and, increasingly, are pulling work away from the firms that have demonstrated they are unwilling to take a legal fight to the Trump administration. Plus there’s an exodus of attorneys leaving the firms that caved to Trump, hoping to distance themselves from their former firm’s cowardice. Skadden’s alumni reunion at David Geffen Hall tonight will also be the site of a Rise and Resist protest. As organizers say of tonight’s planned action:
The people attending this event will be primarily lawyers who previously worked or interned at Skadden, Arps but no longer do so. Many of them are likely unhappy about Skadden’s capitulation. Our purpose is not to confront attendees but to encourage them to speak out against Trump’s attacks on the legal system and urge their firms to do likewise.
Hopefully keeping the pressure up on Skadden and the rest of the lily-livered capitulators will encourage them to keep representing clients that truly need their pro bono assistance — even if it’s something Donald Trump doesn’t agree with.
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].
