Donald Trump Drags Biglaw Firm Into Middle Of Election Interference Effort

[Gothmog]

Foley is not having fun https://abovethelaw.com/2021/01/donald-trump-drags-biglaw-firm-into-middle-of-election-interference-effort/

Leaked audio obtained by the Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught Donald Trump harassing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to accept a string of already debunked election fraud myths and to just “find 11,780 votes” that would deliver Georgia’s electoral votes to Trump. Is that a violation of both state and federal election laws? ALMOST ASSUREDLY! Was there a lawyer on the call who failed to protect her client from running face first into potential criminal liability? YUP!

But what made this call so incredible is that the lawyer Trump chose to bring with him wasn’t drawn from the bumbling crew of free agents willing to trade their professional credibility for an opportunity to leak hair dye on national television, but Foley & Lardner’s Cleta Mitchell. Mitchell was already brazenly spreading myths about “voter fraud” on all the networks that Trump likes to watch, so it was perhaps inevitable that he’d reach out. What wasn’t inevitable is that a Biglaw firm would allow one of their partners to officially drag them into this mess.

This isn’t the first time Mitchell’s practice has put Foley & Lardner in the hot seat. She was caught on tape running a gerrymandering seminar where she advised state legislators to destroy their notes before they go home so they won’t become part of a discovery request. Document retention policies are, fundamentally, about making sure material doesn’t end up getting produced, but it’s a considerable leap from “we delete all your emails older than six months” to “don’t take notes because we’re about to commit some civil rights violations.” That’s some Stringer Bell stuff right there.

But gerrymandering is the polite form of disenfranchisement. It’s the sort of thing Ben Ginsberg could devote his life to and still get a pat on the back from MSNBC. Leaning on state election officials to conjure up favorable votes is a lot harder for a major law firm to spin

[MontanaMama]

1. If Cleta's law firm doesn't can her

then they're going to get sued, I would think. When in the hell will these people be held accountable for their crimes???

[onenote]

3. Who is going to sue them, and for what?

[MontanaMama]

6. She was representing a high profile client

without her firm's permission, that's a no-no. She could definitely be fired from the firm for that. As far as who might sue her? I guess anyone who believes they may have been wronged by her actions...she is actively telling people how to break the law.

[onenote]

7. That's not how standing to sue works

Her client — Trump — could sue her for malpractice but that’s never going to happen.

She won’t be “fired” — but I wouldn’t be surprised if she and the firm negotiate a settlement that involves her leaving but with some cash in her pockets.

[ananda]

2. Indeed, gerrymandering is a form of disenfranchisement.

For years, my area has not been represented in Congress
because my rep is elected by people 150 miles away.

I'm still angry.

[StarfishSaver]

4. I can't imagine they won't fire her

When a firm has to make a public statement trying explain something an attorney had done without their authorization, that attorney isn't likely to be there much longer.

[onenote]

8. Firing a partner can be tricky

In order avoid ugly and expensive litigation, I expect that she and the firm will negotiate a separation agreement where she leaves with some cash in her pockets and no public statements about her having given the firm cause to terminate her.

[StarfishSaver]

10. Yes

That may be why they haven't gotten rid of her yet.

[Gothmog]

12. The world of big law firm is a fun place

I am so glad that I am no longer at a big firm but my son just made partner at a big firm

[Tetrachloride]

5. A prestigious firm likes its prestige.

Some of these offices are in the heart of blue areas.

I have been to a Foley and Lardner office.

And at least one of the lawyers there was mighty blue.

A boycott would put them in another kind of blue. I believe the branch offices in blue areas will take action to main prestige, both in the short run and the long run.

[Cha]

9. TY Goth

[Gothmog]

11. Cleta Mitchell, who advised Trump on Saturday phone call, resigns from law firm

This was predictable. Big Law does not like radicals

Link to tweet

Republican lawyer Cleta Mitchell, who advised President Trump during his Saturday phone call with Georgia’s secretary of state in an effort to overturn the election, resigned on Tuesday as a partner in the Washington office of the law firm Foley & Lardner.

Mitchell’s resignation came after the law firm on Monday issued a statement saying it was “concerned by” her role in the call. The firm noted that as a matter of policy, its attorneys do not represent “any parties seeking to contest the results of the election.”

The Washington Post on Sunday published audio and a transcript of the hour-long call in which Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the election results. During the call, Mitchell complained that she had not been given access to certain information from Raffensperger’s office, and Trump relied on her to an extraordinary degree during the call.,....

In its statement on Tuesday, the law firm said: “Cleta Mitchell has informed firm management of her decision to resign from Foley & Lardner effective immediately. Ms. Mitchell concluded that her departure was in the firm’s best interests, as well as in her own personal best interests. We thank her for her contributions to the firm and wish her well.”

[ProfessorGAC]

13. "Cleta, We've Typed Up Your Resignation."

"Now, sign it & get out!"

[niyad]

14. And this is only the fifth day of this new year.