Sullivan & Cromwell Goes MAGA

Unlike most elite law firms, S&C is welcoming Trump as a client. It's either a brilliant business move or a disaster in the making. It also reflects the rightward drift of the firm.

Last week, the renowned Wall Street law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell announced that it’s taken on a new client: Donald Trump. Specifically, it is representing the president in his appeal of his criminal conviction for paying $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star.

I know everyone is entitled to representation, even the most repugnant among us, including sexual predators, hate mongers, and scoundrels (anyone come to mind?). But there was a time – like four months ago – when elite law firms, mindful about their good reputation, avoided Trump like kryptonite.

But that is so 2024. Now, the white shoe S&C is more than happy to be serving the most polarizing president in our nation’s history. It’s not just quietly representing Trump, but shouting about it from the rooftops, and the one who’s doing so is the firm’s co-chair Robert Giuffra.

Robert Giuffra (photo: Wikipedia)

“President Donald J. Trump’s appeal is important for the rule of law, New York’s reputation as a global business, financial and legal center, as well as for the presidency and all public officials,” Giuffra said in a statement. “The misuse of the criminal law by the Manhattan D.A. to target President Trump sets a dangerous precedent.”

Joining Giuffra are other S&C partners, including James McDonald, Morgan Ratner, Matthew Schwartz, and Jeff Wall, head of its Supreme Court and appellate practice. All former Supreme Court clerks. It’s the A-team.

Trump has come a long way since the time when major law firms regarded him as a pariah. In fact, Giuffra himself had declined to join Trump’s legal team during the first term, along with other legal luminaries, such as Brendan Sullivan of Williams & Connolly, Ted Olson of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, and Paul Clement and Mark Filip of Kirkland & Ellis.

It’s also a far cry from just a year ago when Todd Blanche, now in line to be the deputy U.S. Attorney General, had to quit his partnership at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, for taking on Trump as a client. And it almost seems quaint that Jones Day got pilloried for its association with Trump during his first term.

Trump is now respectable? So are we entering a new era in which Trump is no longer considered a stigma in Big Law?

“It’s as controversial as they come,” says a former Big Law partner. “But less so than eight years ago,” adding, Trump “really won this time.”

Ah, yes, America loves a winner — particularly ones assumed beyond resuscitation, which was what we had thought after the horrors of the January 6 insurrection. But now the magic wand has been waved, and all is forgotten.

While the management of S&C might now be proud to be in Trump’s camp, what about the rest of the firm?

The troops are not happy, reports Joe Patrice of Above the Law, noting that the representation has been dubbed a “morale drain” by an associate. And that sentiment seems to track what I’m hearing too from partners at other firms, headhunters, and consultants. One source tells me that some S&C partners are now shopping for other opportunities, though whether they’ll actually sever their golden handcuffs is another matter. (The profit per partner at S&C is a hefty $6,250,00, making it one of the most profitable firms in the country.)

S&C didn’t have to do this. Showcasing Trump as a client is either a smart business move that will earn big brownie points with the administration or a taint on S&C’s brand that could turn off potential hires and clients. In any case, it’s a big risk – one that S&C didn’t have to take. So why did it do so?