Microsoft drops Simpson Thacher on key case after Trump pro bono deal

Microsoft has reportedly dropped Simpson Thacher from a major case tied to its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in the US and replaced the firm with Jenner & Block - one of the few firms taking a stand against the Trump administration's barrage of executive orders.

The switch, first reported by The New York Times, underscores the mounting legal industry fallout from Trump's crackdown on law firms over their diversity and hiring practices, as well as their ties to political causes considered unfriendly by the president.

In April, Simpson Thacher was one of five elite firms in the US that agreed to provide a combined $600 million in pro bono work for causes acceptable to the Trump administration, in a move seen by many as a pragmatic settlement to avoid losing key clients.

But now, Microsoft appears to be distancing itself from the firm.

According to The New York Times, on 22 April, Simpson Thacher lawyers told a Delaware court that they would no longer be representing Microsoft on the case.  

On the same day Simpson Thacher lawyers filed their withdrawal notice, Jenner & Block partners told the court they would be taking over the case.

Jenner & Block is one of a quartet of smaller US firms that have decided to fight the administration.

In April, the firm filed an application to have the executive order made against it overturned on constitutional grounds. At a hearing on Monday (28 April), the firm asked a Washington court to permanently bar enforcement of the order.