A former co-head of government investigations at Winston & Strawn has established a boutique firm with two former Skadden associates who resigned in protest at their firm’s unwillingness to speak out against President Donald Trump’s targeting of Big Law firms.

Abbe Lowell’s new firm, Lowell & Associates, will represent clients facing investigations and litigation arising from the Trump administration. He has also signed up two former Winston & Strawn associates alongside Rachel Cohen and Brenna Trout Frey, who both hit the headlines for their protests at Skadden’s failure to challenge Trump.

In a statement on LinkedIn, the firm said it would “provide strategic and principled legal representation across civil, criminal, compliance, congressional and regulatory matters”.

It added that it would represent former public servants who had been “unlawfully and inappropriately targeted”, and organisations suing the administration following sweeping cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and the federal government.

Lowell is a former special assistant US attorney and served as a special assistant to both the deputy Attorney General and the Attorney General at the US Department of Justice. 

He served as counsel to the US House of Representatives, chief minority counsel during President Clinton’s impeachment, and special ethics counsel to the House Ethics Committee.

In private practice, Lowell has represented prominent political figures such Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and US senator Bob Menendez. 

More recently, he defended Hunter Biden, former president Joe Biden’s son, in his defence against criminal tax and gun ownership charges, before he was pre-emptively pardoned by his father in December. 

Lowell told US legal media in a statement: “This firm is prepared for today’s dynamic legal landscape, offering a leaner model than larger firms can provide.

“I started my private practice career in my firm and am excited to lead a small yet nimble team once again, ready to represent companies, non-profits and individuals needing our experience and dedication.”

Cohen resigned in March after helping co-ordinate an open letter signed by hundreds of associates calling on the leaders of Big Law firms to take a stance against Trump’s first two executive orders, against Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie.

Trout Frey resigned a few days after Skadden secured a controversial deal on 28 March to head off an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that, according to Trump, includes the provision of $100m in pro bono legal services to causes he supports. 

Cohen wrote on LinkedIn: “There is an urgent need for lawyers to take on representation that runs counter to the executive’s wishes and actions. Zealous representation is a foundational element of our legal system, and how we ensure the government doesn’t overstep its authority, no matter who is in charge.” 

A Winston & Strawn spokesperson said: “Abbe Lowell is no longer at Winston. He left to form his own firm, allowing him to better balance his legal work, teaching, writing and charitable work.”

Skadden was contacted for comment. 

The move comes as a federal judge upheld Perkins Coie’s lawsuit against the Trump administration following an executive order made against it on constitutional grounds.