Skadden Is Heading Down a 'Craven Path,' Associate Says

"I cannot imagine a worse deal than the one that Skadden came away with."

That's the opinion of one of the law firm's own associates, Rachel Cohen. The Chicago-based finance lawyer has grabbed the spotlight by criticizing Skadden and Paul Weiss for reaching agreements with President Donald Trump as he targets Big Law through a series of executive orders. She's also slammed others for staying quiet, even as three major firms fight Trump directives in court.

"The industry is not uniting," said Cohen, who is set to officially leave the firm later this week. "We have to be proactive here and we've not seen that from anyone except for associates."

Late last week, President Trump said that, to avoid being targeted by a punitive executive order, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom agreed to provide $100 million worth of pro bono services to causes Trump supports. This is $60 million more than was offered in a similar deal struck by the firm Paul Weiss weeks earlier.

Even before this, Cohen had already put in her resignation, which will take effect later this week. More than 1,500 Big Law associates anonymously signed an open letter criticizing the industry's response to Trump's attacks. Cohen chose not to remain anonymous.

Now she's calling on Big Law associates to go on a "recruitment strike" and refuse to do any recruitment for their firms until partners take a stronger stance against Trump.

On this episode of our podcast, On The Merits, Cohen speaks with Bloomberg Law editor Jessie Kokrda Kamens about her reaction to the Skadden deal and about what power associates have in this ongoing battle between Big Law and the White House. "Associates are the workhorses," she said. "And the partners certainly do not want to be responsible for the work that they historically farm out to associates."

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