Donald Trump’s elite legal team shrinks to one senior partner

Donald Trump’s elite legal team at Sullivan & Cromwell has dwindled to a single senior partner, Robert Giuffra Jr., as he faces several high-profile legal challenges. Originally, the team included five partners, all of whom had clerked for Supreme Court justices.

The reduction in staff is attributed to both departures to rival firms and appointments to government positions. For instance, Jamie McDonald was appointed Manhattan US attorney, and Matthew Schwartz was confirmed to a seat on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Additionally, prominent litigators Jeff Wall and Morgan Ratner left the firm for Gibson Dunn.

Giuffra is currently overseeing three major legal efforts: an attempt to overturn the $83.3 million defamation judgment awarded to E. Jean Carroll, an appeal of the Manhattan hush-money conviction, and an appeal regarding the fraud conviction secured by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The concentrated workload on a single partner is considered unusual given the complexity and upcoming deadlines of these cases.