Ex-Skadden lawyers express 'deep outrage' in letter over Trump deal

By Sara Merken

April 4 (Reuters) - More than 80 alumni of law firm Skadden Arps sent a letter to the firm's leadership condemning an agreement it struck with President Donald Trump to avoid an executive order targeting the firm.

In a letter to Skadden executive partner Jeremy London, made public on Friday, the group of alumni, comprising mostly lawyers, said they felt "profound disappointment and deep outrage" over the firm's deal with Trump.

"At a time when rule of law, freedom of speech, and the adversarial system collectively face existential threat, Skadden's agreement with President Trump emboldened him to further undermine our democracy," the letter said.

London and a Skadden spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the letter, which was released by the nonprofit advocacy group Common Cause.

Trump last week said Skadden agreed to dedicate $100 million in free legal services to mutually agreed projects benefiting veterans and other groups. The firm also committed to what Trump called merit-based hiring and retention of employees.

London had said in a statement then that the firm had engaged proactively with Trump in the interests of clients, employees and the firm.

The deal came after another firm, Paul Weiss, struck an agreement with the White House to rescind an executive order that restricted its access to government officials, buildings and federal contracting work.

Two other firms, Willkie Farr and Milbank, reached similar deals with Trump this week. Three firms that Trump has hit with executive orders — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale — sued to block the orders and have convinced judges to block key provisions of them on the grounds that they violated the U.S. Constitution.

The letter from Skadden alumni, some of whom did not include their names, said the deals with Willkie Farr and Milbank "evince the deeply disturbing behavior that Skadden helped normalize."

Three of the individuals that signed were associates who recently resigned from the firm since the Trump administration began targeting the legal industry, including two who left Skadden after its agreement with Trump.

Bar associations, law professors and Democratic state attorneys general have also issued statements and letters opposing Trump's actions focused on the legal system, including calls for impeaching federal judges. A group of alumni of Paul Weiss also sent a letter to the firm's chairman Brad Karp criticizing its settlement.

A statement from alumni of the U.S. Department of Justice, opposing attacks on law firms and lawyers, has garnered more than 1,600 signatures.