Pro-Trump Lawyers Stay Quiet About Support to Shield Their Firms

Some corporate lawyers who support former President Donald Trump in the election are doing so quietly for fear of ticking off clients.

One mid-size law firm leader who gave five-figure donations to a Trump and a Republican campaign committee this year aims to keep that backing private in the workplace.

“I am fully aware of many important clients that share my strong beliefs,” the lawyer said in an interview on the condition that his name not be published. “But in an atmosphere where there are a lot of divisive feelings, it is not worth taking the chance of insulting a client that may not feel that way and might decide to take their business elsewhere.”

It’s no secret the legal industry leans Democratic and has done so for years. Still, the wave of public support from lawyers for Vice President Kamala Harris since she became the party’s nominee in August is in stark contrast to the muted approach from Trump’s backers in the legal industry.

Big Law leaders rushed to place their names at the top of invitations for big-dollar Harris fundraisers after she became the presidential nominee. Her backers include Sullivan & Cromwell senior chairman Rodge Cohen, Paul Weiss leader Brad Karp, Jenner & Block partner Josh Hsu, Perkins Coie partner Jill Louis, and Locke Lord partner Paul Coggins.

Trump’s Big Law backers aren’t taking such steps and several declined to discuss their support of him. While a group called Lawyers for Harris is hosting a series of fundraisers before the November election, no such organization exists on the Trump side.

Lawyers worry about being penalized for “mere association” with Trump, whether by working for him or supporting him, said George Terwilliger, a former partner at McGuireWoods. Such Trump work or support shouldn’t count against these lawyers, he said.

“I see this erosion of detachment from politics in the legal profession,” said Terwilliger, who was appointed to Justice Department roles under Republican Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. “It’s like the tide that’s lapping at the pillars that are under these houses that are too close to the beach. Eventually, the tide is going to come all the way in and we’re going to lose a very critical substructure of our legal profession.”

Terwilliger pointed out that a corporate client at McGuireWoods, where he worked until Dec. 31, left the firm while Terwilliger represented former Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows in the US House Jan. 6 investigation. He declined to speculate as to why the client left. McGuireWoods declined to comment on the situation.

Ethical Woes

Law firms must worry about retaining their institutional clients, said Jon Sale, a partner at Nelson Mullins. Sale represented Rudy Giuliani during the Trump impeachment inquiry that was tied to Ukraine, work he said helped his practice.

“It’s not so much that they wouldn’t want to be represented by a firm where people are connected with Trump’s campaign,” said Sale, co-chair of the white collar and government investigations practice at Nelson Mullins “What they don’t want is controversy.”

Lawyers backing Trump are hesitant to make their support known given the ethical entanglements that have ensnared several of those who worked for him, said former University of Connecticut law school dean Timothy Fisher, who spent a decade as a partner at McCarter & English.

“There’s a belief that he will push his lawyers to go right up to the edge of what’s professionally appropriate and firms are concerned about that reputation,” Fisher said.

Foley & Lardner after the 2020 election issued a statement saying it was “concerned” that then-partner Cleta Mitchell was on a call in which Trump asked Georgia officials to find the necessary votes to flip the state in his favor. Mitchell resigned from the firm days later.

Other firms distanced themselves from Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol. Seyfarth Shaw and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius said they would no longer advise Trump’s businesses in the weeks following the attack.

Jones Day, which advised Trump on his 2016 and 2020 campaigns, said last year it wasn’t assisting him in his bid to return to the White House. The firm earned nearly $14 million from the Trump campaign from 2015 to 2020, according to Federal Election Commission records.

The Trump campaign has turned to smaller firms this time around. Dhillon Law Group, founded by conservative lawyer Harmeet Dhillon, serves as primary outside counsel.

At least three attorneys who have worked for Trump—Giuliani, John Eastman, and Kenneth Chesebro—have had their law licenses suspended.

Chantal Raymond, chief executive of Inclusive Legal Search, said she’s had trouble getting job candidates interested in roles at some law firms that have represented Trump. “I would hope that, especially in Big Law, that there is a place for everyone despite whatever political affiliation,” Raymond said.

Trump Backers

Trump, who’s facing three indictments, is known for insulting lawyers and stiffing legal bills. He had a mountain to climb in winning Big Law support for this year’s election—first against President Joe Biden and now Harris.

Lawyers backed the Democratic presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee over the Republican counterparts by 3-to-1 in 2012, nearly 18-to-1 in 2016, nearly 6-to-1 in 2020, and by more than 5-to-1 so far in 2024, a Sept. 18 Bloomberg Law analysis found.

Florida personal injury attorney Dan Newlin is among Trump’s most vocal current supporters in the legal world, reaching into his own pocket to pay for television time for Trump ads. But Newlin’s work is far from the corporate-focused transactions and litigation that fuel business at the country’s largest firms.

In Big Law practices, it’s not practical for attorneys to be public about their personal politics, said one Republican attorney. “If I’m doing mergers and acquisitions, what does it matter what my political views are,” the lawyer said. “Why would I advertise that?”

Lawyers backing Trump show up on public disclosure forms. Kirkland & Ellis partner Norm Champ gave the Republican National Committee more than $88,000 in April and the Trump 47 committee another $100,000 that same month.

Michael DeSombre, former ambassador to Thailand and current Sullivan & Cromwell partner, gave $50,000 to Trump’s committee in May 2024. Fierce critic of the US Securities and Exchange Commission Stuart Alderoty—general counsel of crypto firm Ripple—gave the Trump 47 committee $300,000 in June.

Whether those lawyers would have preferred to keep such support private if they could have is unknown. Champ and DeSombre did not respond to requests for comment. Alderoty declined to comment.