Donald
Trump
began
his
second
(and
hopefully
last)
term
by
attacking
Biglaw
firms
and
the
rule
of
law.
Trump
nominally
used
Biglaw’s
commitment
to
DEI
as
a
pretext
to
pursue
his
personal
vendettas,
even
using
the
EEOC
to
further
his
goals.
Nine
yellow-bellied
Biglaw
firms
(Paul
Weiss,
Skadden,
Willkie
Farr,
Milbank,
Cadwalader,
Kirkland
&
Ellis,
Latham
&
Watkins,
Simpson
Thacher,
and
A&O
Shearman)
capitulated
to
the
demands
of
Trump
allowing
him
to
amass
a
nearly $1
billion
war
chest of pro
bono
payola.
Both sides
of
the
political
spectrum
see
it
as
a black
eye
on
the
profession) —
a
move
that sells
out the
very
principle
of
the rule
of
law.
Now
Kirkland
&
Ellis
—
a
firm
that
shamefully
led
the
charge
to
bend
a
knee
to
Trump
—
is
making
cuts
to
its
DEI
staff,
replacing
global
inclusion
director
Joi
Bourgeois
with
associate
director
of
firmwide
inclusion
Grace
Geronimo
and
eliminating
some
positions.
According
to
Law.com:
The
cuts
mark
a
reduction
in
the
size
of
Kirkland’s
DEI-focused
staff,
although
it
was
not
clear
at
press
time
whether
they
were
related
to
the
Trump
administration’s
scrutiny
of
the
law
firm’s
DEI
practices.
One
source
familiar
with
the
firm
said
the
cuts
were
tied
to
a
firmwide
staff
reorganization
that
began
before
the
November
presidential
election.
I
mean….
I
think
I
speak
for
most
observers
when
I
say
I
am
highly
skeptical
the
cuts
are
unrelated
to
Donald
Trump’s
war
on
DEI
—
and
perhaps
more
accurately,
to
Kirkland’s
capitulation
to
Trump’s
demands.
And
if
it
isn’t,
the
firm
simply
must
be
aware
that
is
the
perception
that
would
permeate
the
industry
when
they
made
the
cuts
*now*.
This
is
the
world’s
richest
law
firm;
they
made
$8.8
billion
is
gross
revenue
last
year.
So
it’s
not
like
these
cuts
are
essential
to
the
firm’s
financial
well-being
—
if
they
wanted
to
assure
the
industry
they
stand
behind
DEI,
they
would.
But
that’s
not
the
statement
Kirkland
is
making
in
2025.
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].