Who might have placed this ad?


Donald Trump is losing lawyers on his defense team either because they are leaving of their own accord or because he, for whatever reason, has forced them out. But he seems to be finding it hard to recruit top-level lawyers to replace them, with many prominent attorneys turning down his approaches.

There have been speculations as to why lawyers from major firms with experience in Washington political cases are reluctant to sign on. One suggestion is that the firms these lawyers work for now have senior women partners and they are vetoing any involvement with a client who has such an awful attitude towards women. Another is that the firms fear that their future recruitment of top young lawyers, both men and women, is going to be hurt by having Trump as a client. But the third suggestion strikes me as the most likely and that is that even though he is the president, and thus on paper a prestigious client to have, Trump would be an awful client, in that he won’t follow instructions and at the end of the day, will likely stiff them on the bill. And that bill is likely to be very high because Trump’s cases are going to be many, will be long-drawn out, and require a major investment of their resources.

In this context, it becomes easier to guess who might have placed this ad that appeared on Craigslist. (Of course it is a parody ad.)

Comments

  1. blf says

    (Cross-posted from PZ’s current Political Madness All the Time thread.)

    Lawyers, lawyers everywhere. And none to represent Trump:

    The US president [sic] seems in utter denial that there is any problem with his legal representation. But there is
    […]
    Lawyers, including John Dowd, have been ousted. Lawyers, most notably Michael Cohen, have been exposed as thugs allegedly paying hush money to a porn star. Lawyers, well-placed Republicans like Ted Olsen, have said no. More recently, other lawyers, like Chicago’s Dan Webb, also declined to come aboard. Lawyers found conflicts to prevent them from representing Trump, like Joe DeGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing.

    Lawyers, lawyers everywhere but none who jump for Trump.

    He will, of course, eventually find someone willing to serve as lead counsel alongside his existing, threadbare team. Unsurprisingly, he seems in utter denial that there is any problem with his legal representation.

    […]

    The problem for the white-collar defense bar’s crème de la crème is that Donald Trump is so blatantly the client from hell. He won’t listen. He won’t obey instructions. He is headstrong. He is a bully. Sometimes, he doesn’t pay his bills. Most of all, it’s possible that he isn’t capable of discerning fact from fiction. This last foible could get any lawyer who represents him into very deep legal hot water. No one wants to get disbarred for the fame and fortune of representing President [sic] Trump.

    […]

    [… G]ood luck finding a strong lawyer to go up against Stormy’s media-savvy and smart-on-his-feet lawyer Michael Avenatti, who only the other day was on cable television musing about the stupidity of Trump’s existing lawyers. On Morning Joe on Tuesday, Avenatti uttered this eminently quotable line: “In 18 years of practice I’ve seen some really good chess players. These folks are paying tic tac toe.”

    It’s hard to disagree with that.

    CNN also points out (An unheard-of problem: The President can’t find a lawyer):

    [… Hair furor is] perceived as so politically unpopular he may damage reputations rather than boost them. Lawyers at large firms fear backlash from their corporate clients if they were to represent the President [sic]. […]

    […]

    Even in a city with such a sizable legal industry, so many top lawyers and large law offices with white-collar and national security specialists have already been hired by witnesses, subjects and companies involved in the Mueller probe. Thus, few in town can take new clients at the center of it.

    […]

    Greez, it’s easy, hair furor: Just get on the phone to Putin. He’ll send over some highly-qualified clandestine help, equipped with nerve agents, polonium-210, and other kit in the authoritarian toolbox.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *