Every Saturday, I try to highlight a story from the week that you may have missed. My goal is to give context to a dizzying time in American society. To help explain what is really going on in the fight for democracy.

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January 17, 2026

Every Saturday, I try to highlight a story from the week that you may have missed. My goal is to give context to a dizzying time in American society. To help explain what is really going on in the fight for democracy.

This week, I came across a story in the National Law Journal that does just that. The headline tells the story: “Big Law Lobbying Practices See Windfall of Work From Trump's Venezuela Policy”

Last spring, we were told that Big Law was reluctantly succumbing to Donald Trump’s demands because they otherwise faced existential risks. The firms that struck deals with Trump were said to be “capitulating” — suggesting they had put up a fight but ultimately reluctantly gave in.

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Now we know that many of them were not victims at all. They were collaborators: gleefully cutting deals to enrich themselves at the expense of American democracy and the rule of law.

It was not always this way. Not long ago, Big Law firms stood on the side of democracy. Now, they are benefiting from its downfall.

In 2017, after a newly elected Donald Trump issued his executive order banning travelers from predominantly Muslim countries, lawyers nationwide sprang into action. Crouched on dirty airport floors, laptops and iPads out, they hurried to help travelers who were denied entry into the United States. The message from Big Law firms was united and strong: They would not stand for this infringement on human rights.

After their race to the airports in 2017, lawyers found themselves on the frontlines once again — this time, in response to the abhorrent 2018 family separation policy. In case after case, lawyers stood before judges demanding that children be reunited with their families. They wrote scathing op-eds. They proudly called themselves “the good guys” in Trump’s villainous regime.

That was then. This is now.

To be clear, Big Firms have always represented oil companies like Chevron and ExxonMobil. But they balanced that with pro bono work ensuring rule of law and free and fair elections. Now one half of that equation is gone.

While law firms make millions helping “companies looking to engage with the Trump administration,” everyday Americans in places like Minneapolis are left to fend for themselves.

As Big Firms were more than happy to showcase back in 2017, their attorneys can be critical fighters protecting individual rights and the Constitution. Back then, they reunited families and defended individuals who had been detained. They called out the president for defying the Constitution and waxed poetic about protecting the rule of law.

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Today, as paramilitary forces take to our streets and our president defames the victim of an ICE shooting, they are nowhere to be seen. As the United States starts an unlawful war, they are not shouting from the rooftops about the Constitution, but rather, they are waiting at the bottom of the hill as they reap their rewards.

So, what changed? It’s actually quite simple: business. Ten years ago, it looked like good business to oppose oppression. Trump was an accidental president — a bump in the road as we swerved back toward Democratic norms. Big Law firms wanted to be on the right side of the battle. They wanted to virtue signal to their clients that they were fighting for the Constitution, the rule of law, and those targeted by Trump 1.0.

Sadly, the men who run these law firms have decided that it’s no longer good business to be “the good guys.” It pays better to be the villain.

Trump is no longer an accidental president. Having the popular vote, he has a stronger mandate to lead, and it doesn’t look like we’re getting off this long, winding road anytime soon.

Trump has also changed. He is not only less tolerant of dissent, but he is openly rewarding his friends. He is happy to have law firms as business partners as long as they sacrifice their decency and self-respect. To be in business with the president can be lucrative, but it means being part of his corrupt government.

Despite Big Law’s retreat, lawyers continue to have a unique role to play right now. We can represent those being targeted by ICE in court. We can go after Trump and his cronies for breaking the law and ignoring the Constitution.

Yes, when Big Firms don’t show up to the fight, we all suffer. Smaller firms like mine carry heavier loads, and people are inevitably left more vulnerable.

But that is the reality we face, and it is no reason to give up. Big Law has made its decision, and so we need to make ours. While they stay silent, we must be loud. While they abandon our democracy, we must fight for it. And while they bend the knee, we need to stand tall.

Now, here's some joy from our pawtners in the opposition, featuring our Senior Growth Manager, Talia Marcus, celebrating her wedding day with her pup, Happy.

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