Follow up to Trump Using Another Executive Order to Take Revenge on Law Firms – The Daily Beast [unpaywalled]: “..Epshteyn has worked for Trump since 2016 and is a polarizing figure—even by the standards of Trumpland. He worked briefly for the firm Milbank LLP after graduating from law school but has never tried a case, according to the Journal. His business card lists his name, cell phone number, and Gmail account, and he takes weekly meetings at a steakhouse in Washington that he calls his unofficial office. Since February, Trump has used the power of the presidency to try to punish law firms he views as hostile to himself and his causes, including firms that have refused to represent him or have helped investigate the criminal charges brought against him. Trump has issued executive orders attempting to strip lawyers of their security clearances, suspend government contracts, and limit attorneys’ entry to federal buildings. The administration has also opened and threatened to open onerous investigations against the firms, including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission probes involving broad requests for information about firm employees and clients, the Journal reported. In response, on Friday, five Big Law firms agreed to do about $600 million worth of pro bono work and to change their hiring practices, bringing the total to nine firms that have agreed to about $940 million in free work. The firms were reportedly wary of negotiating with Epshteyn since he doesn’t work for the government—especially since the White House would need to sign off on any agreements. One firm, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, even went to Trump’s deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, in an unsuccessful bid to lower the pro bono amount Epshteyn had demanded. Blanche had previously worked at Cadwalader but left after the firm refused to let him represent Trump. Blanche told Cadwalader he wasn’t involved in the administration’s firm selection process, the Journal reported…”