Biglaw

Welcome To The #Resistance, Biglaw!

Donald Trump makes for good business.

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(Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

It seems that the Trump administration tries to pick a battle with the media on an almost daily basis. And while presidents often have a contentious relationship with the press, the current administration’s tenor in dealing with the media is more aggressive than before. When the weight of the United States government is levied against some poor reporter, where do they turn?

Increasingly, they turn to Biglaw. Specifically, Davis Wright Tremaine, the Seattle-headquartered firm that finds itself on the front lines of Trump’s temper tantrums time and time again. Eriq Gardner from Hollywood Reporter just put out a profile of the firm’s work protecting the press over the last couple years:

Its fingerprints are present across the media spectrum. Jokes told by late-night comedians? Often vetted by its lawyers. #MeToo stories published over the past 18 months? Quite frequently, a DWT attorney responds to threatening letters from the alleged perpetrators. And in court, the firm is tackling huge First Amendment cases, representing the likes of CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post in everything from defending defamation claims to securing access to critical documents and regaining access after being exiled from the White House. Simply put: This Seattle-based firm has outsize influence on media at a particularly critical moment. (DWT counsels THR too.)

Katherine Bolger, who along with Nathan Siegel represented BuzzFeed in the defamation suit surrounding the publication of the Steele dossier called the case “trippy — that’s a legal term.” It’s what happens when you’re managing a case with enormous repercussions for the future of the free press in America… yet also about prostitute pee parties.

We’ve already featured in Above the Law some of the scathing work of Elizabeth McNamara, who ripped Trump’s attorneys a new one when Trump was looking to silence Tony Schwartz from talking about his experiences co-writing Trump’s Art of the Deal. Everywhere you look, Davis Wright Tremaine’s been all over the media landscape from ABC to South Park.

Sometimes it’s not even clear who all the firm is representing. Gardner’s article includes the story of Rachel Strom, a DWT partner who was in an SDNY courtroom when Michael Cohen was first hauled into court. Appearing unsolicited at the hearing, Strom started asserting the interests of her range of media clients in real-time:

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At the beginning of that proceeding, U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood expressed an inclination to hold the hearing behind closed doors. It was Strom, without any invitation, who stood up from the benches in the public gallery to argue that there was a First Amendment right to access the courtroom and that the “cat was out of the bag” with respect to the Cohen raid. Not only did she sway the judge, but as the hearing turned to questions about what would be publicly filed — including whether the names of Cohen’s clients would be released — Strom persuaded the judge to defer to a presumption of openness. It eventually resulted in Cohen’s admission that he had advised Fox News host Sean Hannity.

For the firm, Donald Trump has generated a good deal of business. And it couldn’t be coming at a better time with technology expanding the First Amendment legal issues, DWT is positioning itself at the heart of Trump’s high-profile battles and locking down its reputation as a top player in the game.

Meet Trump’s Least Favorite Lawyers Defending CNN, BuzzFeed’s Dossier and Media Rights [Hollywood Reporter]

Earlier: Biglaw Partner Eviscerates Trump’s Cease-And-Desist Letter

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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