Exclusive: Ex-Clinton advisers launch law firm for the Trump era
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The Trump administration is embroiled in a record number of lawsuits with media entities, educational institutions and nonprofit organizations.
Why it matters: More litigation means there is more need for policy and litigation communications, because it's about winning in the court of public opinion as well as in court.
Driving the news: In response, Evergreen Strategy Group — the strategic communications firm founded by Clinton alums Nick Merrill and Dan Schwerin — has launched Evergreen Legal, a boutique law firm that will work in tandem with its comms shop to offer legal services, communications support and advice on the current political and regulatory dynamics.
- Corey Ciorciari will serve as managing partner, Karianne Jones, Schwerin, and Merrill are partners and Department of Justice alum Grace Leeper will serve as senior counsel.
What they're saying: The old silos of law, policy, and communications no longer apply, says Merrill.
- "There are constraints on communications that come from the realities of the legal nuance, but there are also political realities that necessitate a way of talking about things," he said. "The external optics are important."
- This was seen first-hand when the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT appeared before Congress last year and muddled the messaging. That sparked a chain of events that has led to firings and recent high-priced settlements.
The big picture: Using litigation as a communications and policy tactic has become common practice within the Trump administration and among conservative groups like America First Legal.
- This has led to Trump extracting more than $1.2 billion in settlements from 13 of the most powerful players in academia, law, media and tech, according to an Axios analysis.
- It has also allowed Trump to message these settlements as wins for his conservative agenda.
Meanwhile, those embroiled in legal scuffles with the administration face two options: settle and deal with the perception of capitulating or push back in court.
- Of note, the few law firms that chose to fight Trump's executive orders have largely prevailed in court so far, Axios' Zachary Basu reports.
Between the lines: Evergreen Legal aims to help companies and nonprofit organizations ward off legal and reputational risks, while also implementing a proactive litigation comms playbook.
- Legal complaints grab attention, force others to the table and are rooted in action, says Ciorciari.
- "If you're trying to drive a message, you need to start thinking about how you use legal tactics to do that, whether it's filing a lawsuit, commenting about regulation or filing a FOIA request or books and records request for the company."
What to watch: Amicus briefs were much more common in the first Trump administration than they are now. However, Schwerin says there is still appetite from companies and nonprofits that are mission-oriented or whose businesses are affected by Trump's executive orders.
- "Whether it's tariffs or it's immigration or it's climate change, if they want to take action, not just speak, then legal tools can be part of that, whether it's commenting on a proposed rule or whether it's filing an amicus brief or a lawsuit," he said.
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