Law firm Skadden Arps defended its ethics and pushed back this week against a demand by a group of Democratic U.S. lawmakers for additional details related to its deal with President Donald Trump to provide $100 million in free legal services.
Three Democratic lawmakers last month sought more information about Skadden's work advising chipmaker Intel (INTC.O) on its sale of a nearly 10% equity stake to the U.S. Commerce Department last year, as well as an explanation from the law firm about how its work for Intel "did not constitute a violation of the rules of professional conduct" in light of its deal with Trump.
Skadden, in a brief August 4 response viewed by Reuters, said it did "not agree with many of the allegations and characterizations in your letter, nor do we agree with your implications about potential conflicts in our practice."
It said the firm's decisions about client matters "are, and will continue to be, made in compliance with the highest ethical standards of the bar."
The letter was signed by Richard Sauber of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer and identified him as counsel to Skadden. Sauber previously represented Democratic President Joe Biden in a probe over his handling of classified documents.
Sauber and a spokesperson for Skadden did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Skadden was one of nine major law firms that pledged to contribute a combined $940 million in pro bono work to causes supported by Trump, in order to head off a White House crackdown on firms that the president had accused of racial discrimination and acting against the country's interests.
In their letter to the firm last month, Senators Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Adam Schiff of California and Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland questioned whether Skadden had violated professional conduct rules as well as their fiduciary duty to Intel.
They said Skadden's work advising Intel on its equity sale to the U.S. government presented "a host of conflicts" given its pledge to Trump, citing a pending shareholder lawsuit that challenged the Intel deal as unlawful and coerced by the White House.
A spokesperson for Blumenthal, the ranking member of the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said Skadden had not turned over any records sought by the lawmakers.
In a joint statement on Thursday, Blumenthal, Schiff and Raskin said the law firm's response was inadequate and that they will continue "to demand answers and hold to account Skadden and other law firms who abandoned our Constitution, the rule of law and their own clients by choosing to succumb to unlawful pressure from the administration.”
Blumenthal, Schiff and Raskin had previously pressed Skadden for records relating to any work it has done for the U.S. government, following reports that Skadden and other firms were providing legal services to the Commerce Department.
