A law associate making $300,000 a year at Skadden Arps quit over the firm’s deal with Donald Trump

When Rachel Cohen took a job as an associate at Skadden ARPS in Chicago three years ago, she expected long hours, some tedious jobs, and very good salary. What he did not expect would be pushed in the middle of a crisis involving his white shoes and the president of the United States.

During the first few months of his administration, Donald Trump aimed at policies that did not agree with both the public and the private sector. But law companies as a category undergo special investigation; Trump signed a number of Executive orders Targeting specific basic legal skills According to the name.

Trump has accused these firms of things like slowing down the electionunlawful Renting skillsand attempts Limit constitutional freedoms by some pro bond work. But the companies that he targets everything has one thing in common: they have previously shaved heads with Trump, or supported Democrats. The increased and uninterrupted investigation motivated nine companies, including Paul Weiss, Willkie Farr, and Skadden ARP $ 940 million In the free legal work of the day.

“Skadden is pleased to have achieved a successful agreement with President Trump and his administration,” Executive partner Jeremy London said in a statement on March 28 Na -Post by Trump on the President's social media platform, social reality. “We are firmly believed that this outcome is in the best interests of our clients, our people, and our firm.”

Cohen could not feel that the company was stronger. “I felt the firm was on the wrong part of history,” he said.

Ethical concerns

Cohen was taken to the firm as a financial expert to work on large transactions at M&A, and there was a little under three years when Skadden made an announcement. Cohen said he first started noticing a slight transfer of attitude to the firm after the president began allocating other major legal skills.

“When Trump began to arrive for law companies based on the previous representation, it was outside the boundaries of normal and a clear stress of intimidation, so I was surprised when there was no immediate response from the company; it struck me as strange,” he said. Skadden didn't answer Fatethe request for comment. 

On March 17 the company belongs to many hits in a Demand letter From the acting chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Andrea Lucas, who demands information about working skills related to the firm, stating a potential violation of the Civil Rights Act.

To many companions, including himself, seeing the letter as a “clear tactic of intimidation,” Cohen assumes at this point that Skadden will speak and strike, but that has not happened. “We don't know because the firm doesn't talk about it,” he said.

Feeling anxiety about the company's future and what he saw as a lack of President's requests, Cohen went to the press to meet his concerns. He expects management to be disciplined for his actions, which he said clearly against the company's policy. But besides a lightweight warning, the company did nothing. Cohen said he believes that because he is looking to ease the bad press on the issue.

“They'll just let me hide my feet and tucker myself like a baby and then push me by the end of the year once the media's attention dies,” Cohen said. Skadden didn't answer FateThe repeated requests for comment.  

Meanwhile, in addition to Working “At least” $ 100 million in pro bono legal work for the causes of supporting the administration, Skadden also made efforts to abolish DEI programs, by overshadowing their current rent approach and end their employee resource groups, Bloomberg Law Report.

Cohen was not the only one who was angry. Earlier this month, a group of more than 80 alumni from skadden Sending a letter to London protesting the company's deal with Trump.

“In connection with Skadden's position, it is so angry and interested in self that instead of fulfilling the oath of the legal profession and standing in unity with fellow law companies fighting to uphold the Constitution, Skadden has fought against the tactics of oppression instead,” the Letter state.

Concerned that the firm was moving in a direction that violated his own ethics, Cohen Skadden stopped on March 20. In doing so, he left a compensation package that he estimated to be over $ 300,000 this year.

Raging

Cohen is not the only one who will leave his job at a major law firm in his repairs to the Trump administration.

A leading lawyer of federal contract with Perkins Coie Reported Leaving the firm in dealing with Trump, and more than half a dozen companions with other companies have stopped public because of their company's deal with the president. This includes lawyers who previously worked Kirkland, Latham, Simpson Thachand Willkie Farr. None of these firms responded FateThe repeated requests for comment.

Some law -study organizations also last. A current JD student in Georgetown Law, Caleb Frye, said the student team helps run, who works to put top graduates of major energy-focused companies, recently sent A Letter To cancel the skadden of a networking event with the company because of its deal with Trump.

“We go to big companies like Skadden because we think we get the best training opportunities, the best career development,” said Frye, Student and Co-President of Georgetown Energy Law Group, Fate. “But now, I can't look at people in my eye group and tell them that they will take the best training opportunities at a firm who doesn't even want to stand on behalf of its own constitutional rights.”

Earlier this month, the National Institute for Workers' Rights filed a Unfair labor training charges with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against the skadden. The Groups That's the firm Engaged in unfair labor skills by making efforts to restrict access to employees' email expressing concerns, submitting resignation, and planning “coordinated decline of recruitment activities” to the Trump agreement. Skadden didn't answer FateRepeated request for comment.

Some law companies that Trump targets are driving back to the administration. After issuing the president an executive order against Susman Godfrey, accusing the firm of the American legal system and “embarrassing the quality of the American election,” the firm He was accused. On April 15, a federal judge granted the company's request for temporary relief from the order, the New York Times reported.

As for Cohen, he wasn't sure of his future, but said it was probably out of the legal profession. He said he felt what Skadden was doing was greater than just the promise of free legal work to the president, adding the company's actions led him to question the ethics of management and reduced his faith throughout the legal system.

“I don't know if there is a law after that,” Cohen said. “It seems that the country is moving towards the Kangaroo courts and I certainly will not make myself doing the law as a full-time job until I see how things will open.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com