Should we add this to Donald Trump’s Russia woes?
The law firm assigned with untangling the president-elect’s conflicts of business interests received an award for “Russia Law Firm of the Year” last year.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has offices in more than two dozen cities, including Moscow. And it’s the firm’s Moscow office that received the award from law firm reviewers Chambers and Partners at their European awards ceremony last April.
In their award winners list, Chambers praised Morgan Lewis for its “top-level advice in regards to the energy sector” and “very strong banking and M&A teams.”
Sheri Dillon, the Morgan Lewis tax lawyer who spoke at Trump’s press conference on Wednesday, joined the law firm in 2015 and was one of the lawyers who confirmed that Trump was under audit in a letter released last March.
“President-elect Trump wants there to be no doubts in the mind of the American people that he is separating himself from his business interests,” Dillon said Wednesday. She also said Trump and his daughter Ivanka would resign from all positions he holds with the Trump Organization, with Trump’s sons managing his company with no input from the president-elect.
Morgan Lewis also represented Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign through another lawyer, James Hamilton. Hamilton served as a major figure in the vetting process for Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, and would have been part of Clinton’s transition team had she won the election.
Fun fact: Dillon isn’t necessarily all in on being pro-Trump. According to political donor database OpenSecrets, Dillon donated $1,500 to Hillary Clinton in 2007 during her presidential primary campaign.
Reporters, including Foreign Policy’s Robbie Gramer were quick to pick up on the ironic factoid about the firm’s Russia award:
Law firm overseeing Trump's compliance w his business, Morgan Lewis, was named "Russia Law Firm of the Year" in 2016 https://t.co/huTJX3oIF1
— Robbie Gramer (@RobbieGramer) January 11, 2017
NEW: The law firm representing Trump during today's news conference won Russia Law Firm of the Year award in 2016. @NBCNews https://t.co/Aq1gpqUWAU
— Peter Alexander (@PeterAlexander) January 11, 2017
Morgan Lewis declined to comment for this story.
Brian Flood contributed to this story.