Trump Inc.’s Law Firm

On March 28, the Wallace Global Fund fired their law firm, Morgan Lewis, with a powerful letter that excoriated the firm for facilitating the Trump Administration’s many ethical breaches.  Given the Wallace Fund’s core commitment to address “threats to democracy and rights,” the Fund could not sit idly by while the law firm gave legal imprimatur to one after another conflict-ridden and ethically questionable moves by President Trump and his associates. 

If they were to reply, Morgan Lewis might cite ABA Model Rule 1.2(b), which assures lawyers that representation of a client “does not constitute an endorsement of the client’s political, economic, social or moral view or activities.”  Citing this rule, lawyers and law firms have provided needed representation to alleged criminals, Guantanamo detainees accused of terrorist activities and other unpopular causes.  Without such representation, our system of law would turn into a series of inquisitions.

But it’s not unpopularity that the Wallace Fund is concerned about — it’s the complicity of the law firm in facilitating a series of serious ethical breaches by elected (and unelected) government officials.  The firm’s “zealous representation” is not a defense to this charge.  In their capacities as advisors, lawyers have a responsibility to exercise “independent judgment” and to advise clients on moral, ethical and political, as well as legal issues.  If the client persists in its chosen, unethical course, the lawyer can (and in many instances must) withdraw from representation.

In addition to the applicable ethics rules, Morgan Lewis might do well to consult the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.  These international guidelines should influence the actions of Trump, Inc., of course, but they also apply directly to Morgan Lewis in its capacity as an international business.  Indeed, in 2016, the International Bar Association published a Practical Guide on Business and Human  Rights with a section devoted to law firms’ responsibilities as businesses in their own right.  

A quick review of the Morgan Lewis firm website suggests that they have thus far limited their corporate social responsibility work to project-based pro bono efforts.  In this regard, they are behind other firms that have taken a leadership role in this emerging area of practice. Perhaps the Wallace Fund’s letter will encourage Morgan Lewis and other law firms to recognize their own roles as human rights responsibility-holders.  After all, there’s nothing like client pressure to make law firms do the right thing.