Willkie Farr & Gallagher has become the latest Big Law firm to strike a deal with President Donald Trump to avoid a harmful executive order.

As part of the deal Willkie has agreed to provide at least $100m in pro bono legal services to causes supported by both the firm and the president, according to Trump’s Tuesday (1 April) statement on Truth Social. The firm also agreed to “not engage in illegal DEI discrimination and preferences” or “deny representation to clients... because of the personal political views of individual lawyers”.

The move follows Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps cutting similar deals as Trump has targeted law firms he maintains have supported efforts to unfairly prosecute him or help his opponents, alongside a broader effort by his administration to challenge DEI policies. 

So far five major law firms including Paul Weiss have been hit with executive orders, which among other measures threatened the firms and their clients with the loss of their government contracts and suspended their lawyers’ security clearances. 

Willkie, which like Skadden made a deal before becoming the subject of an order, reportedly earned Trump’s ire for hiring former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and its successful pro bono representation of two Georgia election workers in a defamation case against former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani. 

CNN reported that Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, told Willkie’s leadership he disagreed with the decision to try to make a deal and advised the firm to push back against Trump’s moves.

Emhoff joined Willkie in January across Los Angeles and New York to advise corporations and others especially in “matters with significant reputational concerns”. Venable and DLA Piper, where Emhoff worked before Harris became vice president, have yet to be caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s campaign targeting law firms. 

Trump’s statement on Truth Social also said Willkie had affirmed its policy to not discriminate against job candidates based on their political beliefs, and would engage independent outside counsel to assess whether its employment practices were “fully compliant with the law”.

“Willkie Farr & Gallagher proactively reached out to President Trump and his administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the weaponisation of the justice system and the legal profession,” according to a White House statement included in Trump’s Truth Social post.

In a statement Tuesday (1 April), Willkie chairmen Thomas Cerabino and Matthew Feldman said the deal “addresses a $100m pro bono commitment, access to legal representation to clients across a wide spectrum of viewpoints, and ensuring continued compliance with the law as it relates to our employment practices”.

“The substance of this agreement is consistent with our firm’s longstanding practices,” the statement added. “The firm remains committed to serving the needs of our clients, our employees and the communities of which we are a part.”

Willkie’s leadership acknowledged the deal was “not welcomed” by some of its lawyers and staff in a firmwide email published by Above the Law, but added it was “the path that best serves our clients’ needs and protects the firm’s various stakeholders, avoiding potentially grave consequences”.

Paul Weiss chairman, Brad Karp, similarly defended his firm’s deal in a firmwide statement, saying the executive order targeting it “could have easily destroyed our firm”.

However, law firms’ decisions not to push back against the orders has come in for fierce criticism from some in the legal profession, including junior lawyers at Skadden who have resigned in protest. 

Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale have also been targeted with executive orders, but opted to fight back in court and have each been granted temporary restraining orders blocking critical elements of the orders.