Why One Lawyer Resigned When His Firm Caved to Trump: An Update episode artwork

EPISODE · Dec 29, 2025 · 26 MIN

Why One Lawyer Resigned When His Firm Caved to Trump: An Update

from Deborah Lebree's podcast · host Deborah Lebree

This week, The Daily is revisiting some of our favorite episodes of the year and checking in on what has happened in the time since.President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court.Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit after his firm, Skadden, negotiated a deal to placate the president.Guest: Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who left his firm after it negotiated a deal with Mr. Trump.Background reading: Listen to the original version of the episode here.Read about how Paul Weiss, a major democratic law firm, ended up bowing to Mr. Trump.Ever since the elite law firms Skadden and Paul Weiss reached deals with the Trump administration, top partners have closed ranks in support of the agreements.Photo: Graham Dickie/The New York TimesFor more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.  Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.

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Why One Lawyer Resigned When His Firm Caved to Trump: An Update

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