As a practicing attorney for the past 40 years, I am shocked and disgusted by the capitulation of nine of the largest law firms in the country to the extortionate demands of the Trump administration.

In his quest to gain unfettered power well beyond the bounds established in the Constitution, Donald Trump has succeeded in exposing the rot and hypocrisy that has infected certain institutions and professions in this country, and the putrid smell of this rot is emanating most strongly from the ranks of these mega-firms.

Our country is at a critical juncture in its history, when lawyers in particular need to stand up and aggressively defend the rule of law. And surely these large law firms have the financial resources and legal firepower to do so. Instead, they have meekly abandoned any pretense of upholding the legal principles which serve as the backbone of our democracy.

In their attempts to justify the “deals” they have reached with the Trump administration, the leaders of these firms have resorted to transparently self-serving proclamations that they have remained true to their “long-established principles” and their “core values.” The reality, of course, is that the firms passively acquiesced to Trump’s demands in the service of only one value -- that of protecting their profits.

In the not-too-distant past, big law firms held out their pro bono work as evidence of their commitment to pursuing equal justice under the law. The goal of these efforts (or so they would have us believe) was to make the firm’s legal services and expertise available to individuals and organizations who otherwise could not afford them. But such high and noble ideals have been consigned to the ash heap, and moving forward these firms will instead be providing their free legal services to support and advance the nefarious agenda of a vindictive billionaire.

The going cost of sacrificing a law firm’s integrity and self-respect in order to keep the money rolling in is now up to $125 million.By passively caving in to Trump’s unlawful threats and intimidation, these firms have disgraced themselves and dishonored the entire legal profession.

We can only hope that the underlying greed motivating these big laws firms to sell their souls will circle back to bite them. After all, the corporate clients of these firms might reasonably question whether they want continued representation from a firm that has proven itself incapable of standing up and defending its own legal and constitutional rights.

Hugh Heisler

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