Microsoft drops the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett avocado office from a case

When the big law firms attacked by President Trump decided to conclude an agreement with him rather than fighting, many have done so because their leaders feared that customers abandon a company taken from the bad side of the administration.

Now this logic can become less convincing. A large company, Microsoft, abandoned a law firm that has settled with the administration in favor of the one who fights it.

Large companies like Microsoft often cultivate legal work at dozens, even hundreds of businesses and can advance business according to circumstances, such as prices, expertise or potential conflicts. Microsoft refused to comment on why he changed law firms in a significant case last week, but the switch suggests that a firm that has chosen to combat the Trump administration could always attract an important customer.

On April 22, several lawyers from the Simpson Thacher & Bartlett law firm informed the Court of Chancellerie Delaware that they would no longer represent Microsoft in a case linked to the acquisition in 2023 of the company of the video game giant Activision Blizzard, according to legal files.

Simpson Thacher concluded an agreement with the White House last month during which the company is committed to carrying out $ 125 million in free legal work for acceptable causes in the Trump administration. In a joint declaration with other companies concluding similar agreements, Simpson Thacher said that pro Bono work would be in the name of “a wide range of poorly served populations”.

The same day as the lawyers for Simpson Thacher filed documents withdrawing from the Microsoft case, at least three partners of the Jenner & Block firm informed the court that they would represent Microsoft in the case. Jenner fights in court to definitively block an executive decree of the Trump administration targeting his activities.