African
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
(Photo
by
Marvin
Joseph/The
Washington
Post
via
Getty
Images)
Paul,
Weiss
is
representing
Metropolitan
African
Methodist
Episcopal
Church
in
a
lawsuit
against
the
Hudson
Valley
Proud
Boys
and
their
president
William
Pepe.
The
historically
Black
church
is
suing
over
trademark
infringement,
as
Metropolitan
AME
was
awarded
Proud
Boys
International’s
interest
in
the
“Proud
Boys”
trademark
after
a
2020
attack
by
members
of
Proud
Boys.
In
a
normal
world,
this
is
the
sort
of
representation
that
the
firm
boasts
about
but
is
so
uncontroversial
that
it’s
not
really
“news.”
But
it’s
2025,
so
this
qualifies
as
a
Big
Deal.
Donald
Trump’s
war
on
Biglaw,
through
unconstitutional
Executive
Orders
designed
to
break
major
law
firms unless
they
bend
a
knee
to
Trump,
has
already
had
a
tremendous
impact
on
the
industry.
In
the face
of
financial
harm,
nine
major
firms
sought Trump’s
seal
of
approval,
providing
pro
bono
payola,
that
is,
free
legal
services
on
behalf
of
conservative
clients
or
causes
in
order
to
avoid
Trumpian
retribution.
But
the
chilling
effect
is
even
greater
than
those
capitulating
firms,
because
pro
bono
and
public
interest
representations
by
Biglaw
firms
are
down
—
significantly
—
as
firms
don’t
want
to
risk
Trump’s
ire.
And
Paul,
Weiss
was
one
of
the
firms
—
the
very
first
firm,
in
fact
—
that
capitulated
to
Trump.
Since
then,
the
firm
has
been
experiencing
the
consequences
of
their
actions
—
the
deal
with Trump
keeps
getting
worse,
there’ve
been congressional
investigations and client
concerns.
And,
of
course,
there’ve
been
bunches
lawyers bailing on the
firm to distance
themselves from
the
craven
capitulation
—
most
notably,
the
anticipated
20-odd
litigators
leaving
to
work
at
litigation
boutique
Dunn
Isaacson
Rhee,
the
firm created
in
the
wake
of
Paul,
Weiss’s
Trump
deal.
So
Paul,
Weiss
taking
the
legal
fight
to
the
Hudson
Valley
Proud
Boys
—
and
Pepe,
who
was
pardoned
by
Trump
for
his
role
in
the
January
6th
attempted
coup
—
is
being
hailed
as
a
stance
against
the
president’s
agenda.
Let’s
not
get
too
excited
though.
When
it
comes
to
Biglaw
bravery,
the
firms
that
refused
to
ink
a
deal
with
Trump
and
are
actively
fighting
the
Biglaw
EOs
in
court
are
at
the
top
of
the
pyramid.
Then
the
firms
actively
litigating
against
key
aspects
of
Trump’s
agenda.
The
firms
that
capitulated
to
Trump
have
a
long
way
to
go
before
the
even
start
to
undo
the
damage
they’ve
done
to
the
rule
of
law
(and
even
in
that
category,
Milbank
is
lapping
Paul,
Weiss).
But
it’s
certainly
better
than
repping
the
Proud
Boys
in
this
case.
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].