These Big Law Partners Take Rare Step to Buck Trump Publicly (1)

Most Big Law partners upset with President Donald Trump’s attacks on the profession have protested quietly or anonymously—except for these lawyers.

They come from firms including Goodwin Procter, Littler Mendelson, Winston & Strawn, and Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft. Among 700 partners from the 200 largest law firms who signed an amicus brief fighting Trump’s order against Susman Godfrey, they are among the fewer than 15% doing so publicly.

“There is a point where silence is truly not an option,” said Eric Savage, a New York-based shareholder at Littler Mendelson who co-chairs the firm’s emerging companies and tech industry practice group. “Silence is a form of acquiescence and I am unwilling in my individual capacity to acquiesce.”

Trump has rocked the legal profession with directives targeting Covington & Burling, Susman Godfrey, Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale. Nine other big firms have pledged $940 million in free legal services to Trump-aligned causes to avoid the White House’s ire.

Law firms’ pushback against Trump’s attacks has mostly come from legal challenges by Susman, Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale, as well as the lawyers and firms that support their cause.

But the support has been concentrated outside of Big Law. None of country’s 25 largest firms signed a friend-of-the-court brief for Perkins Coie earlier this month. Eight in the top 100 did join the more than 500 other firms that signed on to the Perkins Coie brief.

Most of those who have spoken up individually have done so anonymously, for fear of repercussions. A group called Big Law Anonymous was created to give lawyers resources to make their opinions known without identifying themselves.

Another new group, Law Firm Partners United, claims more than 700 partners who work at the 200 largest US law firms by revenue. But this group’s amicus brief for Susman Godfrey lists only 110 of their members by name.

Their brief makes clear the partners are speaking as individuals, not on behalf of their firms. Partners have “continued to observe clients hesitate about hiring law firms that might become the President’s next target,” they wrote. “The orders are having their intended effect.”

In addition to Savage, here are some of the most notable lawyers that have gone public in their support for Susman Godfrey, as confirmed by Bloomberg Law.

Neel Chatterjee, a Silicon Valley-based intellectual property partner at Goodwin Procter, once served on the firm’s executive committee. He has represented Anthony Levandowski at the center of the IP dispute between Google/Waymo and Uber related to self-driving car technology, according to his firm bio. He joined Goodwin in 2017 after serving as a partner at Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. Chatterjee solicited partners at other firms to sign on to the Susman brief, according to his LinkedIn posts. He did not return a request for comment.

Angela Machala, a partner at Winston & Strawn, serves as the firm’s office managing partner in Los Angeles. She has been a partner at the firm since 2021, and according to her Winston & Strawn bio, she represents those facing federal grand juries, the Securities & Exchange Commission, and other government investigations. She joined the firm from Scheper Kim & Harris, according to her LinkedIn profile. Machala did not return a request for comment.

Andrew Carlon, a partner in Cadwalader’s tax department, focuses his practice on the tax implications of mergers and acquisitions and other corporate transactions, according to his firm bio. His firm agreed to provide $100 million in free legal services for Trump administration causes to avoid punitive action by the White House. Cadwalader was once the professional home to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. Carlon declined to comment.

Nisha Verma, a partner at Dorsey & Whitney, leads the firm’s California labor and employment group. Verma said she’s not worried about firms acting against partners for speaking out against Trump via the amicus brief because “they are the utmost professionals” who will “make the right decision at this moment.” Bill Stoeri, the firm’s managing partner, said in a statement, “Our firm has made it clear that Dorsey lawyers and business professionals are free to take appropriate action, in their individual capacities, on political and social issues. Having Dorsey lawyers as signatories to the Law Firm Partners United brief is consistent with that policy.”

The case is Susman Godfrey v. Executive Office of the President, D.D.C., 1:25 01107, 4/25/25