Willkie Farr & Gallagher, the law firm where Doug Emhoff, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, is a partner, is pledging at least $100 million in pro bono legal work for causes aligned with “conservative ideals,” President Donald Trump said on Tuesday via social media.
Willkie would be the third top law firm to formalize such a deal with Trump, following similar pledges from Paul Weiss and Skadden.
“Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP proactively reached out to President Trump and his Administration, offering their decisive commitment to ending the Weaponization of the Justice System and the Legal Profession,” said the White House, according to Trump’s post on Truth Social.
Doug Emhoff and Willkie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s social media post also said that Thomas M. Cerabino, Chairman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, stated that “the substance of that agreement is consistent” with the firm’s views on access to legal representation by clients and that the firm has a “history of working with clients across a wide spectrum of political viewpoints.”
The announcement comes amid a wave of executive orders from Trump targeting Big Law over their affiliations — both with political adversaries and with causes he has publicly criticized. These executive orders have included reviewing the security clearances of law firms and terminating their contracts with the government.
Most of these executive orders, including ones targeting Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Jenner & Block, have been blocked by federal judges — some indefinitely until an official ruling has been reached.
“Willkie Farr’s capitulation to Trump is absolutely shameful,” said Molly Coleman, executive director of the People’s Parity Project, an organization of law students and attorneys. “Emhoff and other partners need to show they stand on the side of the rule of law by resigning — there’s absolutely no other option.”
“If anyone should have the courage to refuse to practice the law under Trump’s thumb, it should be Doug Emhoff,” she added.
Paul Weiss has also faced criticism for bowing to Trump’s demands, and at least two lawyers have publicly resigned from Skadden before and after its agreement with Trump, with one calling the act “a craven attempt to sacrifice the rule of law for self-preservation.”
Just a week after Trump was sworn in for his second term, Wilkie announced it had hired Emhoff as a partner. In 2023, Wilkie brought on Tim Heaphy, the former chief investigative counsel for the House select committee that probed the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The firm represented Trump during a 1990s bankruptcy case and successfully defended his close ally, Thomas Barrack, in a 2022 federal case. The firm also represents X, the social media company now owned by Trump ally and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
