When Donald Trump entered the White House to begin his second term, he was quick to target law firms that stood between him and his policy aims.
The US president signed a flurry of executive orders stripping some lawyers of security clearances and cancelling government business with others who focused on immigrant rights or diversity cases.
While some firms caved, ditching litigation that could bring down the wrath of the White House, Abbe Lowell left his big-name practice.
As Mr. Trump declared war on his profession, Mr. Lowell was quietly building a roster of clients who had been burned by the president.
It has paid off.
The veteran Washington lawyer has become the most sought-after defense attorney for officials in Mr. Trump’s crosshairs. He even offers a discount to those seeking his services to battle the Trump machine.
His newest client is Susan Monarez, fired as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week, adding to a list of figures who say they have been treated unfairly as Mr. Trump extends his powers.
Kevin Carroll, a Washington lawyer representing intelligence officials fired by the administration, said Mr. Lowell had found an important niche in the market.
“Several prominent law firms publicly entered into settlement agreements with the Trump administration that might seem to impinge upon their willingness to litigate aggressively against the federal government in high-profile, politically-charged criminal cases,” he said.
“Abbe Lowell is, of course, an excellent defense lawyer, and he just set up his own firm, so he does not have that perception problem.
“He can go to the mattresses, as they said in The Godfather.”
That fighting spirit is an attractive proposition for a growing list of high-profile clients.
They include Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor who is challenging Mr. Trump’s decision to fire her, as well as Letitia James, the New York attorney general facing Mr. Trump’s fury over her civil investigation into his finances, as well as former federal prosecutors, who lost their jobs after the new president took power.
Mr. Lowell comes with a reputation based on decades of defending Washington insiders on both sides of the political spectrum.
Clients have included Hunter Biden and Ivanka Trump in recent years, allowing him to say he has defended the children of two presidents.
“I have basically challenged the overreach of federal agencies in every administration since Ronald Reagan’s,” he said.
“Didn’t matter whether it’s a Democratic or Republican administration, if the government overreaches then [the] lawyer’s job is to put the government in the right place.”
A graduate of Columbia Law School, he joined the Justice Department under president Jimmy Carter, and was later the chief counsel to Democrats during the impeachment of president Bill Clinton.
In private practice, he quickly developed a reputation as a defender of politicians, including those caught up in sleaze or corruption cases.
He left the firm Winston & Strawn this year, where he had been a partner since 2018, to set up his own practice.
The move gave him more freedom to take on the White House, he told The Wall Street Journal.
“The big-firm model couldn’t do that easily,” he said.
Mr. Trump’s opponents get a discounted rate, while he builds up a roster of full-paying clients.
And there are plenty of people who need representation, as Mr. Trump takes an axe to federal agencies and cracks down on lawyers representing his opponents.
In March and April, the president signed a string of executive orders targeting law firms and attorneys who had taken up causes that butted up against his plans.
Firms working on immigration cases, transgender rights, or the January 6 attack on the Capitol faced particular scrutiny, as the Trump administration accused them of undermining US interests.
Lawyers lost access to government buildings or security clearances, while some firms were stripped of government contracts.
Although several firms sued the Trump administration, others cut deals – offering pro bono work for causes close to Mr. Trump’s heart – to avoid being targeted.
Mark Zaid was one of the national security lawyers who was stripped of his clearance. Today he is represented by Mr. Lowell and a co-counsel in other cases with him.
“Abbe is dedicated to helping those who are under attack, especially when the rule of law is at issue and regardless of political affiliation,” he said. “He epitomizes what we as lawyers are supposed to represent.”
Among Mr. Lowell’s early clients was Miles Taylor, a former official in the Department of Homeland Security who resigned from Mr. Trump’s first administration after writing an anonymous column for The New York Times titled “I Am Part of the Resistance” inside the Trump Administration.
The president subsequently issued a memorandum accusing Mr. Taylor of treason, and revoked his security clearance.
He said Mr. Lowell was one of the few options for someone in his position.
“It was extremely difficult for me to find legal representation amidst this,” he told MSNBC recently. “In normal times, it wouldn’t have been, because my case is a slam dunk case.”
Rob Crilly is the chief U.S. correspondent for The Telegraph
