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How does DJT end up with such a disparate group of attorneys?

Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:25 pm
Posted by Obtuse1
Westside Bodymore Yo
Member since Sep 2016
26188 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:25 pm
First, I would point out he has some great attorneys such as D. John Sauer repping him but how did a billionaire with as many lawsuits as he has been involved in end up with someone like Alina Habba who:

1. often answers the court with "sure"

2. has no clue how to enter a deposition into evidence and subsequently impeach the witness using that deposition

3. objects while sitting on her arse

4. does not grasp the concept of "for the truth of the matter asserted" in relation to a hearsay objection

These are all things you learn in the first month of a trial advocacy class or 3 or 4 episodes of Law and Order.

Does anyone have any novel insight besides the frick with OMB type of answers? I am honestly baffled by this. Her in-court performance in the Carroll case would get most 1 year associates summarily fired from a good firm.





Posted by BeepNode
Lafayette
Member since Feb 2014
10005 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:27 pm to
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/23/24 at 11:25 am
Posted by SDVTiger
Cabo San Lucas
Member since Nov 2011
75234 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:30 pm to
Not guilty





Posted by Speckhunter2012
Lake Charles
Member since Dec 2012
6127 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:30 pm to
quote:

How does DJT end up with such a disparate group of attorneys?


Lawfare. Can you stand vs the government and not lose your livelihood?

Are you willing to sacrifice your life and family? They will come after you, even for BS charges.

This needs to end.
Posted by Pettifogger
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Member since Feb 2012
79560 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:31 pm to
I don't think it's limited to attorneys nor limited to the more political era of his life.

It seems like his hired professionals have always fallen in a broad range between "well-respected" and "under indictment" and who can really say why. I think Trump, being a colorful character, is probably drawn to people of the same sort. I think he probably values personal allegiance above all else and isn't going to get that with Cravath, etc.

More recently, it's probably a completely different landscape.
Posted by Rebel
Graceland
Member since Jan 2005
131602 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:33 pm to
Would someone from Perkins Coie provide him a better defense?
Posted by faraway
Member since Nov 2022
2335 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:33 pm to
are you familiar with 65 project? google it.
Posted by CajunTiger92
Member since Dec 2007
2821 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:35 pm to
quote:

How does DJT end up with such a disparate group of attorneys?


I have no idea.





Posted by Lou Pai
Member since Dec 2014
28203 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 9:38 pm to
Yeah bro but she's a smokeshow you cuck
Posted by iHEARTcorndogs
Island of Misfit Corndogs
Member since Oct 2023
1034 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 10:05 pm to
How? They started targeting anyone that would help him. That’s how
Posted by davyjones
NELA
Member since Feb 2019
30546 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 10:24 pm to
Why don’t you send in a resumé.
Posted by roadGator
Member since Feb 2009
141723 posts
Posted on 1/17/24 at 10:25 pm to
Hush, nothing but the best.
Posted by epbart
new york city
Member since Mar 2005
2939 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 1:46 am to
I have a lot of familiarity with a number of lawyers & law firms in NYC-- though I'm a relative nobody and am not an attorney myself. Although many attorneys have a level of autonomy to bring in new business as they please and are encouraged to do so, when they're part of law firms-- especially as they become larger and more diversified in their practice areas (antitrust, general litigation, corporate, M&A, real estate, and so on)-- this decision can get more complicated. One such complication revolves around conflicts of interest, which makes sense in an overt way. Obviously, if a firm is handling the plaintiff of a case, it wouldn't make a lot of sense for the defendant to use the same firm. But politics and PR can play a role in such decisions and sometimes the Board/Executive Committees of larger firms will discuss the potential impact of taking on certain clients. A partner I know at one prominent firm told me of one such meeting, in which the Board discussed whether or not they would represent a significant foreign entity, and due to the potentially sensitive nature of it, they declined.

While I can't prove it here, I would suggest that this type of discussion has happened in many executive committees at nearly every AM 100 law firm if Trump has approached them, and every one of these firms would undoubtedly discourage-- if not prohibit-- their attorneys from working for Trump.

One notable instance that comes to mind is Marc Kasowitz, a highly successful NYC litigator who worked with Trump on several matters over several years, including a dispute with Carl Icahn and at least one of Trump's divorces. According to this old NY Times article:
LINK
Kasowitz was as brash as Trump, enjoyed a good fight, and enjoyed the spotlight, which should've made him a natural fit to continue representing Trump. Certainly, he would get publicity.

Then Trump becomes President and becomes persona non grata in NYC circles. Shortly after winning, Kasowitz still represents Trump on a couple of matters, including against the NY Times for defamation. Then that's it. Kasowitz leaves Trump's legal team.

Is it possible that Trump did something to piss him off / drive him off? Sure. But I can also say that I was familiar with Kasowitz' firm since it had only one or two offices with something like 15-20 attorneys in the late 1990's and early 2000's. And by the time Trump won in 2016, Kasowitz had 300 or so attorneys in several cities, and had somewhat recently opened Los Angeles and Silicon Valley offices. At this point, with so many attorneys competing with other firms for clients, the decision to continue representing Trump becomes more complicated and risks alienating other clients.

The idea that this is why Kasowitz left Trump's team is speculative. But it isn't speculation to say:

1) Numerous Google execs were upset when Trump won in 2016. If you google "google upset when trump won in 2016", a number of hits come up, like:
CNN - Leaked Video: Google Execs Upset Over Trump Win

2) Kasowitz had a relatively new Silicon Valley office. If you look at the profiles of the current attorneys in that office (I'll filter the attorneys to that office here):
kasowitz firm site
almost all of them list experience representing Google, as well as Uber and Reddit (and I believe Reddit's Ohanian was not a fan of Trump). While the Silicon Valley office is small, these are potentially huge clients and it isn't hard to imagine that Kasowitz and other senior members had to weigh the odds of losing Google as a client if he kept supporting Trump.

To repeat-- this is not proof and I could be wrong. But I wondered if this was the case when it happened and still do.

One notable exception to this appears to be Jones Day (an old, established, big firm)... undoubtedly in part because Donald McGahn of Jones Day was Donald Trump’s first White House counsel. And the firm has a strong Republican presence. According to this Guardian article:
LINK
Jones Day was willing to work for Trump. Regrettably, Trump turned them down and picked Dowd instead, which I think was a big mistake since Jones Day has a lot of talented lawyers and Dowd didn't last. But note this part of the article:
quote:

Enrich reports that some at Jones Day thought such a deal would tie the firm too closely to Trump as his presidency pitched into controversy and chaos. Brogan was advised to pull back but pushed to land the client.

... which supports my earlier premise that a lot of big firms are going to weigh the political/PR risks of a client like Trump with regards to potentially alienating other clients.

Unless something changes, I think Jones Day was Trump's best last chance at having a high power law firm with resources work with him. And he's going to be stuck with small firms and solo attorneys now who don't have the resources to fight Perkins Coie & the full weight of the DOJ.

edit to add: I was extremely slow to type this out and moving back & forth between a couple of things... so didn't see your comments on pg 2, which I largely agree with and which cover a good bit of what I said, but more succinctly.
This post was edited on 1/18/24 at 2:00 am
Posted by geauxbrown
Louisiana
Member since Oct 2006
19830 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 7:29 am to
Because they can’t convince him to stop insulting the court
Posted by tigerpawl
Can't get there from here.
Member since Dec 2003
22489 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 9:09 am to
I always thought he had a weak and timid legal team - dating back years.
Posted by Dday63
Member since Sep 2014
2329 posts
Posted on 1/18/24 at 9:46 am to
It's simple: Bad attorneys and bad clients tend to find each other. I've seen it happen timecand again in my opponents.
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