Three Democratic lawmakers are once again demanding that Kirkland & Ellis hand over records tied to its 2025 agreement with President Donald Trump, accusing the law firm of stonewalling their investigation into the deal and the role played by Trump's personal lawyer Boris Epshteyn. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Adam Schiff, along with Representative Jamie Raskin, are pressing the firm for answers.
The lawmakers are seeking what they describe as all records related to Kirkland's agreement with the Trump administration, according to Bloomberg Law. They also want the firm to disclose its contacts with Epshteyn, who is described as a personal lawyer for President Trump reportedly involved in negotiating the deal. As Reuters reports, the lawmakers also want details of Kirkland's reported work for the U.S. Commerce Department.
Kirkland made its deal with Trump in 2025, and it was one of nine major law firms that collectively pledged a combined $940 million in pro bono work for causes supported by the president, a move lawmakers say was meant to head off a White House crackdown on firms Trump accused of racial discrimination and acting against the country's interests. Kirkland has acknowledged providing free legal services directly to federal agencies under its April agreement, but it has declined to provide details, according to the lawmakers' account relayed by Bloomberg Law.
Trade Deal Work and an Unanswered Question of Payment
Reporting indicates Epshteyn connected Kirkland with administration officials, after which the firm worked on new U.S. trade deals with Japan and South Korea, per the same Bloomberg Law account. It remains unclear whether Kirkland performed that trade-related work for free or charged for it. The New York Times has reported separately that it is unclear whether Kirkland did its Commerce Department work for free or billed the agency, and that representatives of Kirkland and Skadden Arps did not immediately respond to requests for comment on that reported work.
In its own response to the renewed demands, Kirkland & Ellis did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to Reuters.
Lawmakers Allege Stonewalling, Vow to Keep Pushing
Blumenthal, Schiff and Raskin say Kirkland has provided no responsive information to their inquiry. Blumenthal serves as ranking member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, while Raskin is ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee; both Blumenthal and Schiff are U.S. senators.
The renewed request follows a round of letters sent in September to three firms — Paul Weiss, Kirkland and Skadden — seeking similar information, the Bloomberg Law report notes.
A Wider Standoff Over Big Law's Pro Bono Pledges
Kirkland's case sits inside a broader standoff between the Trump administration, Congress and the legal industry. Nine firms in total pledged nearly a billion dollars in pro bono legal work after the White House pressure campaign began. Paul Weiss struck a deal that led the administration to rescind an executive order limiting the firm's employees' access to federal buildings and threatening its clients' federal contracts, according to Bloomberg Law. Skadden separately agreed to perform $100 million in pro bono work on causes supported by Trump, the New York Times reported, while eight other firms reached similar deals and four firms successfully challenged such orders in court.
The Justice Department is now seeking to depose leaders of the nine firms that struck deals, including Kirkland & Ellis, Latham & Watkins and Simpson Thacher, per Bloomberg Law's reporting. The firms that instead fought Trump's executive orders in court have so far won favorable lower-court rulings. Democrats on Capitol Hill have continued to raise questions about how the firms that cut deals are fulfilling their pro bono commitments.
