Lawyer Abbe Lowell hires first partner at firm defending Trump targets

By David Thomas

March 16 (Reuters) - Prominent Washington lawyer Abbe Lowell has hired his first partner at the law firm he launched last year, as he defends multiple, high-profile clients who have been targeted by President Donald Trump's administration.

Lowell & Associates announced on Monday that Caleb Hayes-Deats is joining the firm from MoloLamken. Hayes-Deats, a former Manhattan federal prosecutor, will be the firm's sixth lawyer and the first partner to join Lowell since its founding, according to its website.

Lowell, a former partner at U.S. law firm Winston & Strawn, is now representing at least five individuals who are facing investigations or indictments by the U.S. Justice Department under Trump. Lowell & Associates said when it launched in May that it would defend clients "facing politicized investigations, civil and administrative actions."

Hayes-Deats said he left MoloLamken after eight years because he "wanted to become more involved in defending the rule of law." He said he will also be able to maintain his commercial litigation and government investigations practice at Lowell's firm.

A spokesperson for MoloLamken did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump, a Republican who campaigned for the presidency on a vow of retribution after facing a slew of legal woes once his first term in the White House ended in 2021, has dispensed with decades-long norms designed to insulate federal law enforcement from political pressures. He has actively pushed Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department to bring charges against his perceived adversaries.

Lowell represents several of those adversaries, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook and former national security adviser John Bolton.