Washington DC: On Friday, President Donald Trump announced agreements with five prominent US law firms, allowing them to sidestep potentially damaging executive orders.

The firms—Kirkland & Ellis LLP; Allen Overy Shearman Sterling US LLP; Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP; and Latham & Watkins LLP—will each deliver $125 million worth of pro bono legal services to causes such as veterans' welfare and combating anti-Semitism. In a separate deal, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft committed $100 million in free legal services.

These agreements were brokered amid an intensifying campaign by the Trump administration to reshape civil society by targeting law firms it accuses of discriminatory or partisan practices. In return for the legal commitments, the administration has withdrawn Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) inquiries into the firms' hiring practices, which allegedly included illegal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.

As part of the deals, the law firms have also agreed to abandon any unlawful DEI criteria in recruitment and to serve clients without regard to political affiliations.

The executive committee of Kirkland & Ellis noted that the resolution would help close the EEOC probe and prevent an executive order from disrupting the firm's operations, while affirming its non-partisan, merit-based values.

This wave of legal settlements follows several months of escalating pressure from the White House. Trump’s executive orders have threatened to revoke security clearances for lawyers, bar firm employees from federal premises, and terminate existing federal contracts.

Although firms such as WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Jenner & Block have won temporary court relief from enforcement of these orders, others have chosen to negotiate directly with the administration. Trump’s critics, including targeted firm Susman Godfrey, have accused him of using the presidency to retaliate against organisations connected to investigations or litigation involving him.

Paul Weiss was the first firm to reach a settlement, agreeing to provide $40 million in pro bono services. Other firms that have since struck similar deals include Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; Willkie, Farr & Gallagher; and Milbank.

The legal community remains divided, with some challenging the constitutionality of Trump’s actions, while others comply to avoid business disruption.

(With AP inputs)