07/22/2026
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https://www.law360.com/articles/2503978/dems-press-skadden-on-trump-pro-bono-pact-intel-deal-work
Dems Press Skadden On Trump Pro Bono Pact, Intel Deal Work
By Lauren Berg ·
Law360 (July 21, 2026, 6:25 PM EDT) -- A group of Democrats demanded Tuesday that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration in light of allegations the firm advised both Intel Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce when the administration received a 10% company stake.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., ranking member on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations; Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., House Judiciary Committee ranking member; and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Senate Judiciary Committee member, pressed Skadden executive partner Jeremy London for answers about the firm's agreement to provide $100 million of legal services to the Trump administration.
This isn't the first time the lawmakers have sought the details of Skadden's pro bono agreement to avert an executive order that could have prevented the firm from taking on work connected to the federal government as they investigate the legality of such deals, which President Donald Trump has indicated will "help us out" with making trade deals.
But a derivative shareholder suit that was recently fully unsealed alleges Skadden advised Intel on the agreement to issue $11 billion worth of stock, which comes out to a 9.9% company stake, to the U.S. government, which "presents a host of conflicts given Skadden's agreement with the Trump administration," the lawmakers said in the Tuesday letter.
"As the complaint explains, Intel's 'board, operating under the shadow of the president's threats, and advised by legal counsel [Skadden] that itself was conflicted due to its pro bono promises to the president, caved to the government's extortion,'" the lawmakers said, adding that the suit also alleges there is no evidence Intel's board was ever advised about the firm's "serious conflicts of interest."
The lawmakers noted in the letter that Skadden's deal with the administration and the allegations in the complaint raise concerns the firm's attorneys have violated the American Bar Association's rules of professional conduct and their fiduciary duty to Intel.
"The significant allegations of ethical impropriety in the Intel shareholder complaint and your ongoing refusal to provide information and records responsive to our requests heighten our interest in understanding the details of your agreement with President Trump and any legal services Skadden has provided to the DOC or any other federal government agency," the lawmakers said.
The lawmakers, who are seeking all records related to Skadden's agreement with the administration, told the firm "this information is crucial to our work conducting oversight of the Trump administration's outrageous and unprecedented efforts to coerce major law firms and some of the law firms' willingness to enter into unlawful agreements to provide pro bono work to the administration."
A representative for Skadden did not immediately respond to Law360's request for comment Tuesday.
Almost immediately after taking office for his second term, Trump issued a series of executive orders targeting BigLaw firms, aiming, among other things, to pull their federal security clearances and hamper their ability to serve as legal counsel to the federal government and its contractors.
While some firms chose to offer millions of dollars in pro bono legal services to the administration, Perkins Coie LLP, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block LLP and Susman Godfrey LLP swiftly sued the administration and won.
The Trump administration vowed to appeal the losses to the D.C. Circuit, which consolidated the cases, before the government told the court it was voluntarily dismissing the fight. Then, in a whirlwind about-face, the administration requested permission to withdraw the motion before filing its opening brief in March. Oral argument went forward in May, and the court has yet to rule.
Blumenthal, Raskin and Schiff are also questioning the involvement of Boris Epshteyn, whom they called Trump's "legal fixer and co-conspirator to overturn the 2020 presidential election."
--Additional reporting by Aebra Coe, Jack Karp, Hailey Konnath, Daniel Connolly, Emily Sawicki, Alison Knezevich, Emma Cueto and Jared Foretek. Editing by Lakshna Mehta.
A group of Democrats demanded Tuesday that Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP disclose details of its pro bono arrangement with the Trump administration in light of allegations the firm advised both Intel Corp. and the U.S. Department of Commerce when the administration received a 10% company...
