Cadwalader Is Trump Target as Firm Talks White House Deal

Manhattan’s Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is discussing a deal with aides of President Donald Trump to avoid being targeted by the White House in an executive order.

The agreement would be similar to those recently reached between Trump and other firms: Paul Weiss, Skadden, Milbank LLP, and Willkie Farr, according to two sources briefed on the talks. Those firms committed a combined $340 million in pro bono legal services to White House priority causes, like “combating antisemitism,” supporting military members, and “ensuring fairness” in the justice system.

A Cadwalder spokesman declined to comment.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche left Cadwalader in 2023 in order to take on Trump as a client, defending him in multiple cases before the president’s reelection. But other Cadwalader lawyers have represented the president’s allies, such as Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg and political consultant Paul Manafort.

Prominent law firms have been targeted by Trump for ties to his perceived opponents and work on causes he opposes. The Trump administration leveled executive orders against four firm that instructed agency heads to strip lawyers’ security clearances, restrict firm personnel from accessing federal buildings, and slash federal contracts held by firm clients. Paul Weiss reached a deal to have the order withdrawn, while three other firms secured court rulings temporarily blocking most of the orders.

Cadwalader, one of the country’s oldest law firms, brought in $638 million in revenue last year. Its 80 equity partners earned $3.7 million in average profits.

The New York Times first reported the firm’s talks with the administration.