Two weeks ago, Paul, Weiss, Rifkin, Wharton and the garrison chairman Brad Karp announced that President Trump would dismiss the executive order against the law firm in exchange for a commitment that includes the $40 million Pro Bono legal service in recognition of Mr. Trump.
Mr. Karp said in an employee-wide email that the deal is consistent with the statement of principles by the giant company. The commandment was written by its respected partner, Judge Simon H. Rifkind, to strengthen the company's loyalty to democracy and the law.
But last week, Judge Rifkind’s granddaughter Amy and Nina Rifkind themselves wrote to Mr. Cape, saying they were shocked by his personal assault deal at the White House and how he invoked his grandfather’s principles to prove it.
“In our attacks on our nation's rule of law and the executive orders against Paul Weiss, you went to Washington to surrender even before you began the battle,” the Rifle sisters wrote.
They added: “It is obvious to us, and it is for our grandfather that taking action away from the enemy list does not promote the rule of law embodied in the statement of principle, it weakens it and incites those who try to remove it.”
It was a two-page letter obtained by The New York Times, a reaction echoing through the legal community after a deal with Mr. Trump. Critics accused the company of succumbing to intimidation rather than fighting the order in court. Mr. Cape told colleagues that the deal was necessary because Paul Weiss faces a 150-year-old threat.
A Paul Weiss spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the letter.
Since the deal was concluded on March 20, Mr. Trump has issued execution orders against other law firms, several of which have resisted lawsuits against the government. The companies won their initial success: On Friday, the judge issued a temporary restraining order, blocking many restrictions on two of them.
The other two companies recently agreed to deal with the White House. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump announced that Willkie Farr & Gallagher has committed $100 million in unpaid legal work to the cause he supports. The Times reported that the White House explicitly warned the company's next on the presidential roster and “outlined the proposed alternative.”
To avoid orders, contact the government and agree to provide $100 million in legal work, another company – Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom – to avoid orders. Scadarden said in a statement that the deal “is in the best interests of our customers, our employees and the company.”
Paul Weiss works with offices around the world, including mergers and acquisitions, private equity, white-collar workers, and regulatory defenses and litigation. According to Law360, the company had revenue of more than $2.6 billion last year. Mr. Trump's order will suspend Paul Weiss' security permit and prohibit his lawyer from entering federal buildings.
Mr. Karp said in a second email to colleagues on March 23 that Paul Weiss was ready to challenge the executive order in court, “in the best traditions of the company.” But it was clear that even if the company successfully blocked the order initially, customers would see Paul Weiss as a government role, and many would not keep in touch with the company.
Mr. Cap also said that other companies, rather than supporting Paul Weiss, began actively soliciting clients and recruiting lawyers.
Mr. Karp wrote to his colleagues: “Our company is likely to be unable to have a lasting dispute with the government.”
Mr. Karp said when he learned that the government might be willing to reach a resolution, “we do work as we recommend clients to litigate every day’s lawsuit.”
He said the company began looking for “lasting solutions that don't require us to undermine our core values and fundamental principles.”
Amy and Nina Rifkind said in the letter that they understand that running a large law firm involves balancing conflicts of interest. They said they also realized that Mr. Cape believed he was facing an existential crisis of “a painful choice between the survival of the company and the painful choice between litigation and negotiation.”
But they believe that the benefits of the situation are greater than the survival of the company. “The integrity of the entire legal system is incredibly threatened,” wrote Rifle Ifkinders.
They added: “We have confidence that our grandfather will recognize in this delicate moment that what is good for the state and the rule of law is good for Paul Weiss, not the other way around, when this country is wandering between new authoritarianism and its long-standing freedom.”
Mrs. Rifle asked Mr. Karp to share the letter with his partner, and they also sent it to dozens of themselves. Amy Rifkind said Mr. Karp responded quickly to their letter and politely admitted to accepting it.
Judge Rifkind was born in Meretz, Russia in 1901 and was brought to New York in 1910, with his father working as a wool trader in the Lower East Side. He graduated from City College in 1922, received his law degree from Columbia in 1925, and served as a federal judge in the southern New York region from 1941 to 1950.
He resigned from the bench in 1950 and joined Paul Weiss, where he won the famous lawyers for trial attorneys on all levels, including the Supreme Court.
Judge Rifkinde died in 1995 at the age of 94. He pointed out in the Times that he was praised for being pragmatic, witty and hard work. It describes him as a physically modest figure, carrying 140 pounds on a 5-foot-6-inch frame, with blue eyes looking stylish on heavy-edged glasses.
“However, he was behind Paul Weiss for many years and made a lot of effort to expand the list of lawyers, workload and income,” itu said.
He also wrote about the company’s principles, which highlighted Paul Weiss’s reputational values in the diversity and inclusion of the legal community – one of the few large companies that hired and promoted Jews in the 1950s and 1960s.
Amy and Nina Rifkind said in an interview that they decided to write the letter after learning that Mr. Karp's email explained his reasons to his colleagues.
“We immediately had the same reaction, which was not what our grandfather thought Paul Weiss should do,” said Amy Rifkind, who practiced real estate law in Washington, D.C.
This led them to think further about the true meaning of the principle, she said.
“Seeing grandfather’s name in the news is like pushing us to talk about what we think he will fight for at the moment,” Amy Rifkind said.
The sisters recall living in Manhattan and walking to their grandparents’ apartment where their father and grandfather discussed the law.
“We grew up as lawyers and opened our own path,” practicing at Oxford, Mississippi and an adjunct professor of law at the University of Mississippi. “Obviously, this path is influenced and influenced by the values and principles that our grandfather illuminated.”
Mr. Karp listed a promise from Judge Rifkind in his initial email to his colleagues: “We are committed to achieving our goals without wearing any client’s collar or any party’s uniform. And we believe that in these purposes we can maintain a law firm associated with it, in which all those associated with it can be just and impartial.”
Amy and Nina Rifkind said in their letter that for grandfather, the “touchstone” was another principle: “In all things, one should take responsibility for our profession and our country.”
Mrs. Rifle demanded that unless Mr. Karp is willing to prioritize the duties of “our profession and country”, he “stops citing our grandfather’s name to justify your actions”.
