Overview

• Damian Williams, who led the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan from 2021 to 2024, joined Jenner & Block as co-chair of its Litigation Department and Investigations, Compliance and Defense practice.
• In March, Paul Weiss agreed to devote $40 million in pro bono work to causes approved by the administration in exchange for rescinding an executive order that threatened to strip security clearances and government contracts.
• Jenner & Block was among four firms that sued to block President Trump’s executive orders and secured a federal court’s permanent injunction against sanctions on legal practices.
• Following Paul Weiss’s settlement, eight other firms struck similar pro bono deals, with four – including Jenner & Block – opting for litigation instead of compliance.
• Williams’s move caps a wave of high-profile departures from Paul Weiss, intensifying debate over law firms’ independence in response to the administration’s targeted executive actions.