Paul, Weiss — the first law firm to strike a deal with President Trump to avoid a punitive executive order — is losing a prominent attorney to a firm that, when targeted by the White House, fought back in court.
Damian Williams, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is set to leave Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison after half a year there for a role at Jenner & Block. His departure is the latest in a series of high-profile resignations from the firm in the aftermath of its agreement with the Trump administration.
In a Friday statement, Williams praised Jenner & Block for “fearlessly” advocating for its clients and how it “lives its values.”
“I’m excited to join a team with an extraordinary depth of legal talent that doesn’t shy away from hard fights — and delivers results that matter,” he said.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has targeted six big law firms with executive orders aimed at undercutting their business as retribution for their ties to his political adversaries.
While four of the firms filed legal action challenging the directives, Trump revoked his executive order against Paul, Weiss after it agreed to provide $40 million in free legal services to support administration initiatives and other perks.
The deal set off an avalanche of agreements between the Trump administration and the nation’s top law firms. Now, eight other firms have entered agreements with Trump to provide tens of millions of dollars in pro bono work, despite there being no executive orders issued against them.
Jenner & Block, meanwhile, sued the administration. A federal judge last month deemed the order against the firm unlawful and blocked it in full.
“This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers,” U.S. District Judge John Bates, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote in a 52-page opinion. “It thus violates the Constitution and the Court will enjoin its operation in full.”
Last month, four top lawyers at Paul, Weiss also departed from their roles as partners at the law firm to form their own practice.
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