According to Trump, Willkie—whose partners include former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff—will provide a total of at least $100 million in pro bono services to veterans, active duty U.S.en troops, and Gold Star families; law enforcement and first responders; to "ensuring fairness in our justice system;" and combating antisemitism.
The firm also agreed to commit to "merit-based hiring" and refrain from "illegal" diversity, equity, and inclusion hiring, promotion, and retention. It must also "not deny representation to clients, such as members of politically disenfranchised groups... who have not historically received legal representation from major national law firms... because of the personal political views of individual lawyers."
Willkie said in a statement that "we reached an agreement with President Trump and his administration on matters of great importance to our firm. The substance of that agreement is consistent with our firm's views on access to legal representation by clients, including pro bono clients, our commitment to complying with the law as it relates to our employment practices, and our history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints."
"The firm looks forward to having a constructive relationship with the Trump administration, and remains committed to serving the needs of our clients, our employees, and the communities of which we are a part," the statement added.
The agreement averts what could have been a ruinous executive order from Trump targeting the firm. Willkie drew Trump's ire for actions including
employing a top investigator for the House committee that examined his role in fomenting the attack on the U.S. Capitol and for representing two Georgia election workers who sued his former attorney and adviser, Rudy Giuliani, for defamation. In December 2023, the former New York City mayor was ordered to pay $148 million to the workers for falsely accusing them of engaging in a nonexistent conspiracy to "steal" the 2020 U.S. presidential election from Trump.
According to The Associated Press, "Emhoff made it known internally that he disagreed with this deal and told firm leadership they should fight, according to a person familiar with the situation who insisted on anonymity to discuss internal deliberations."
Tuesday's deal outraged democracy defenders.
"Emhoff and other partners need to show they stand on the side of the rule of law by quitting—there's absolutely no other option,"
argued Molly Coleman, executive director of the People's Parity Project and PPP Action and a St. Paul, Minnesota City Council candidate.
The Willkie agreement follows
similar surrenders by white-shoe law firms including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Trump accused these and other law firms of weaponizing the judicial system, and last month, he issued a memo directing U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to "seek sanctions" against firms and lawyers that the administration says have engaged in "frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States."
