06/04/2025
Trump Administration Targets DEI Policies in Law Firm Crackdown
This week’s key terms/concepts:
• Executive Order: A directive issued by the US president to create or modify laws without congressional approval.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): The general corporate policies aimed at promoting diverse representation, fair treatment and equal opportunities in the workplace.
• Pro Bono: The provision of legal services without charge, typically to individuals or organizations who cannot afford to pay for representation or legal advice.
This article is part of an ongoing story surrounding DEI policies in the US. For the previous Lex Weekly article on this story, read here.
Donald Trump has used executive orders to target commercial law firms that he sees as being a threat to his political agenda. Law firms have responded in different ways, with Willkie Farr & Gallagher ($100M), Paul Weiss ($40M), Milbank ($100M) and Skadden ($100M) having agreed to provide pro bono services for the Trump administration in order to soften relations and ensure smoother business. Other firms have challenged the President’s actions, seeing it as a breach of the rule of law, shown by judges temporarily blocking the executive order as Perkins Coie brought the matter to court.
Why is this significant?
Trump is targeting law firms that have acted against his political agendas. For example, Perkins Coie represented Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. Additionally, Elon Musk publicly criticised Skadden on X for litigating against a conservative film. As well as providing free legal services for the Trump administration, many law firms have started to disengage from DEI practices. For example, Latham & Watkins, Hogan Lovells and Freshfields have removed DEI content from their websites, including references to racism and LGBT issues. This is because Trump has launched a review into whether law firms have been reserving positions for those of ‘preferred races’, including vacation scheme places, calling DEI initiatives ‘illegal and immoral’.
How does this affect law firms?
Trump’s executive orders have caused a dilemma for law firms. If they reject Trump’s orders, it can lead to a detrimental loss of business, however, an acceptance may lead to a firm receiving a negative image. Rachel Cohen, an ex-Skadden associate, resigned from the firm in protest and urged other lawyers ‘to take action and present a united front’, and many other lawyers have signed open letters to show their stance against the executive orders.
Additionally, Trump’s orders are evidently harmful for the recent increase in DEI initiatives in the commercial sector. Without these initiatives, firms are at risk of a less diverse workforce, which disrupts the legal sector’s recent push towards more equitable diversity targets.
Lex Weekly 