Law students everywhere are invited to take our pledge not to interview or work for the law firms doing the majority of the legal work for the Trump campaign’s despotic attempts to threaten our election integrity and the future of our nation.

Read more about why we chose these four firms—Jones Day, Porter Wright, King & Spalding, and Consovoy McCarthy—who have received the largest share of attorney’s fees from Trump’s campaign and the majority of the legal work.

Interested in getting more involved with our Trump accountability work? Apply to join our Trump Accountability Team or another working group.

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Our democracy is under attack. President Trump’s reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee have filed frivolous lawsuits in states across the country in an attempt to overturn the results of a fair election and undermine our democratic process. These lawsuits are failing and have received vehement criticism for their meritless attempts to sow discord and distrust.

Yet, attorneys from Jones Day, Porter Wright, King & Spalding, and Consovoy McCarthy are leading the charge. They are not just complicit – they are enabling despotic attempts to threaten our election integrity and the future of our nation. This is unethical, plain and simple.

Today, law students nationwide are joining together to send a message: We will not interview or work for these law firms.

These four firms are being credited as receiving the largest amount of attorney’s fees from Trump’s campaign and the majority of the legal work:

  • Jones Day has been involved in 20 lawsuits on behalf of President Trump, his campaign, or the Republican Party. It has taken over $20 million from the Trump campaigns, political groups linked to Trump, and the RNC, including $4 million this year alone. Recently, Jones Day and Porter Wright petitioned the Supreme Court asking it to bar Pennsylvania from counting mail-in ballots received after November 3. Lawyers from Jones Day itself stated this was done “to erode public confidence in the election results.”
  • Porter Wright Morris & Arthur filed multiple lawsuits in Pennsylvania this November alleging voter fraud and suing to stop certification. Legal experts have declared these suits “dead on arrival.” But the firm continues to cash in, making at least $727,000 from the Trump campaign and the RNC this year alone.
  • King & Spalding represented the Trump campaign, RNC, and North Carolina Republican Party in a lawsuit before Election Day attempting to block North Carolina officials from being able to enforce new rule changes regarding mail-in ballots.
  • Consovoy McCarthy moved to intervene in the U.S. Supreme Court case regarding Pennsylvania election integrity.

These firms are helping the Trump campaign file frivolous complaints and erode public trust in our elections. They do not have to work for Trump while he undermines our democracy. And we don’t have to work for these firms.

Law students, particularly 1Ls and 2Ls participating in the law firm recruiting process, must stand up, use our power, and refuse to normalize the actions of lawyers destabilizing our democracy. We can hold ourselves and others accountable for our decisions. We can choose what we want this profession to look like. As civil rights attorney Sasha Samberg-Champion put it, “we are a self-regulating profession, and we need to start regulating.”

We cannot let these law firms continue to delegitimize our democracy, and we certainly cannot work for them. We have a moral imperative.

As law students, we pledge not to participate in the recruiting processes of Jones Day, Porter Wright, King & Spalding, and Consovoy McCarthy for as long as they continue to help undermine our democracy.

JONES DAY

  • Nine partners and associates expressed concern that Jones Day is “advancing arguments that lack evidence and may be helping Mr. Trump and his allies undermine the integrity of American elections.”
  • Jones Day and Porter Wright petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to bar Pennsylvania from counting mail-in ballots received by Nov. 6, but postmarked by Nov. 3.
  • Six Jones Day lawyers said that the main goal of this Pennsylvania litigation “seemed to be to erode public confidence in the election results.”
  • Since 2015, Jones Day has received more than $20 million from the Trump campaigns, political groups linked to Mr. Trump and the Republican National Committee
  • It has received $4 million this year alone in fees from Mr. Trump, political groups supporting him and the Republican National Committee.
  • Jones Day partner Donald F. McGahn II served as Mr. Trump’s outside lawyer during the 2016 campaign and became White House counsel before returning to Jones Day.
  • Jones Day partner Noel Francisco was President Trump’s first solicitor general before returning to Jones Day.
  • Jones Day partner Eric Dreiband is an Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.
  • Jones Day partner John Gore was formerly acting head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division before returning to Jones Day. Now, he is leading some of the Trump campaign’s election litigation efforts.

PORTER WRIGHT MORRIS & ARTHUR LLP

  • Filed suit in the Middle District of Pennsylvania alleging voting “irregularities” statewide.
  • Legal experts have declared these suits “dead on arrival.”
  • Porter Wright has made at least $727,000 in fees this year from the Trump campaign and the RNC.
  • As of Nov. 13, the firm withdrew from a federal lawsuit that it filed days earlier on behalf of President Trump.

KING & SPALDING

  • King & Spalding brought a lawsuit in North Carolina representing the Trump campaign, RNC, and North Carolina Republican Party attempting to block North Carolina officials from being able to enforce new rule changes regarding mail-in ballots.
  • FBI Director Christopher Wray, a partner at King & Spalding, has pulled from his law firm to fill FBI positions.

CONSOVOY MCCARTHY PLLC

  • Consovoy McCarthy moved to intervene in the U.S. Supreme Court case regarding Pennsylvania election integrity.
  • The firm previously defended President Trump in an attempt to stop Congress and S.D.N.Y. prosecutors from receiving his financial records.

OTHER FIRMS

Other firms that have worked for the Trump reelection campaign in election-related litigation include Baker Botts, Statecraft PLLC, Snell & Wilmer (which has withdrawn its case in Maricopa County), True North Law LLC, and Taylor English Duma LLP.

Pledge Takers

Brooke Simone
Maiya Moncino
Charlotte Boghossian
Kurt Wohlers
Aditya Vedapudi
Rachel Czwartacky
Max Vogel
Lily Sawyer-Kaplan
Michaela Olson
David Meyerson
Narmada Murugan
Rachael Grainger
Tim Hirschel-Burns
Joseph Zimmerman
Ben Lempert
Marlee Goska
Gabrielle Barber
Zoe Van Dyke
Mitchell Forbes
Gabe Chess
Simon Jacobs
James Cowan
Katherine Rogers
Kailyn LaPorte
Will Jankowski
William Hanna
Michael Washbush
Caroline Driscoll
Lillian Roberts
Melissa Bruehl
Robert Lothman
Laura Miller
Nina Charap
Clara Butler
Aashna Rao
Everett Secor
Jacob Fallman
Dani Bernstein
Annie Schuver
Derek Zeigler
Edith Lerner
Sydney Hofferth
Reyna Benson
Elyse O’Neill
Julia Florey
James Moser
Esmé Devenney
Natalie Treacy
Lauren Cole
Emily Boyk
Rachel Harrington
John Garcia
Hannah Mezzacappa
Kaitlan Moe
Erica Arensman
Thomas Desoutter
Daniel Schwartz
Scott Haeck
Courtney Shier
Lauren Yu
Jen Xue
Seth Mayer
Rachelle Kredentser
Lauren Pierce
Tamar Alexanian
Will Wiener
Bogyung Lim
Olivia Vigiletti
Hannah Greenhouse
Amanda Adolph
Collin Grier
Freya Jamison
Tina Al-khersan
Patrick Murphy
Hannah Friedman
Zofia Peach
Casey Wright
Jim Stehlin
Ashley Bishel
Megan Shanklin
Samantha Gowing
Jennifer Cote
Christine White
Kaleb TerBush
Shenu Reddy
Abhi Parekh
Deborah Rookey
Sophia Weaver
Riyah Basha
Caroline Farrington
Lila Shelley
Ryan Lind
Jessica Rempe
Nicole Rubin
Aiden Park
Bryan Frederick
Drew Schendt
Kelly Recker
Seve Kale
Brendan Schneiderman
Laura Durand
Evan Neustater
Rebecca Garfinkel
Elizabeth Temkin
Lauren Week
Tyler VanderMolen
Michael Stone
Erin Woodruff
Elena Meth
Linh Nguyen
Knychelle Passmore
Rachel Moore
Taylour Boboltz
Stephanie Clemente
Megan Bright
Lauren Taiclet
Nicole Garson
Rudi-Ann Miller
Chelsea Bray
Sarah Bender
Margaret Fiori
Serena McGann
Laura Jensen
Alanna Autler
Max Endicott
Emily Marcus
Talia Lepson
Joe Oswald
Katherine Romero
Marta Rocha
Megan Armstrong
Natasha Phillips
Sara Caplan
Kevin Wu
Eunice Lee
Paul Huff
Lexi Smith
Jeff Wang
Benjamin Mordechai-Strongin
Shaza Loutfi
Rachel Appel
Jose Urteaga
Anna Grace Nwosu
Mary Claire Kelly
Tessa McEvoy
Raisa Cramer
Mallory Hale
Alora Fleenary
Alex Noronha
Audrey Ortiz
Natasha Blazer
Kyle Pham
Justin Hill
Suhayla Ahmed
Winn Periyasamy
Sylvia Woodmansee
Amanda Epstein
Josh Marshall
Justin Lam
Yael Massen
Seth Bertolucci
Madison Bower
Megan Raymond
Anna Vande Velde
Becca Lynch
Julian Alvarez
Elizabeth Powers
Marshal Lawler
Chandler Hart-McGonigle
John Ackerman
Braedan Gillman
Jayme Smith
Jason Salgado
David Popoola
Mimra Aslaoui
Diana Woody
Ezra Brown