Retaliation: Inside Trump’s Unprecedented Attack on America’s Law Firms

A chilling expose of power versus the rule of law: the inside story of Trump’s unprecedented 2025 attack on America’s leading law firms. In the tumultuous early months of 2025, the Trump administration launched a swift and calculated offensive against the very foundations of America’s legal system. Retaliation is the first in-depth account of this seismic event, plunging you behind the scenes of the White House’s relentless assault on some of the nation’s most prestigious law firms in the wake of the 2024 election. This gripping narrative meticulously dissects the pivotal weeks when executive power was weaponized against the legal profession. Witness the initial strike against Covington & Burling, penalized for the routine act of providing pro bono counsel to former Special Counsel Jack Smith. Follow the escalating campaign as it engulfed Perkins Coie, targeted for its Democratic ties and the work of figures like Marc Elias. Uncover the pressure brought to bear on New York’s legal powerhouse Paul Weiss, partly stemming from its past association with Mark Pomerantz. Finally, understand the targeting of Jenner & Block, a firm renowned for its pro bono commitments and its rehiring of former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann. Drawing upon court filings, executive orders, official statements, extensive news coverage, and firsthand accounts from this critical period, Retaliation reconstructs the sequence of events that sent shockwaves through the legal community and challenged the core tenets of American governance. What happens when a president unleashes the full force of executive authority against private law firms simply for representing certain clients or holding specific political viewpoints? Retaliation reveals the answer, exposing the administration’s arsenal of tactics: the abrupt suspension of security clearances, crippling hundreds of attorneys; ominous threats of contract termination; and sweeping investigations launched by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission into the diversity initiatives of over twenty major firms. Uncover the driving forces behind this extraordinary and unprecedented assault. Witness the targeted firms’ desperate navigation of an existential crisis, as they faced intense government pressure alongside the looming threat of rival firms like Sullivan & Cromwell, Kirkland & Ellis, and Wachtell Lipton seeking to poach their top legal talent amidst the uncertainty. Learn how this attack sparked backlash within the profession, including the symbolic resignation of a Skadden associate in protest. Ultimately, confront the profound constitutional questions raised by these events concerning the limits of executive power, the indispensable independence of the legal profession, and the very essence of the rule of law in a democratic society. If you’re seeking to understand the escalating battle between concentrated political power and the American legal system, and the potentially irreversible implications for the future of our democracy, Retaliation is the essential and timely account you need.