By Mike Scarcella
(Reuters) -Former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams has left Paul Weiss, the law firm he joined in January, becoming the latest partner to depart the Wall Street firm since it struck a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump in March to rescind an executive order against it.
Williams is joining Chicago-based Jenner & Block, the firm said on Friday. Jenner sued the Trump administration to block a similar Trump order and won a ruling last month permanently blocking it.
Jenner’s announcement did not mention its fight against the Trump administration or the Paul Weiss deal. Paul Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Williams was not immediately available for comment. In a statement, he said Jenner “fearlessly advocates for its clients and provides outstanding strategic counsel through their most difficult challenges.”
Jenner said Williams, an appointee of former Democratic President Joe Biden who led the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York from 2021 to 2024, will co-chair the firm’s litigation department and investigations practice.
Jenner was one of four law firms that sued the White House challenging an executive order that sought to strip government contracts from the firms’ clients and to bar attorneys at the firms from entering federal buildings.
Paul Weiss instead agreed in March to devote $40 million in free legal services to causes approved by the administration in order to escape the order against it. The firm’s chairman Brad Karp has defended the agreement, saying it was necessary to protect the firm and did not compromise its principles.
Eight other prominent firms later reached similar deals with the White House.
Five partners, including Karen Dunn, left Paul Weiss last month to form a new firm. They did not cite the agreement with Trump in their announcement.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario and Chizu Nomiyama)
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