A recent report by Michael Isikoff of Yahoo News has disclosed that at least four top U.S. law firms have declined approaches from the White House to represent President Trump over the Russia investigations in the past few weeks.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/four-top-law-firms-turned-requests-represent-trump-122423972.html
In some cases it seems that major law firms were wary of the potential reputational damage they might incur from representing the POTUS, while others apparently saw him as the proverbial ‘client from hell’ who would pay no attention to any legal advice he was given. They took the view that Trump could be relied upon to shoot his own legal team in the back by tweeting whatever thoughts came into his mind at 5:30 a.m based on his endless consumption of right-wing cable news channels and lunatic conspiracy theory websites, regardless of whatever script he had been given by his handlers the night before.
“The guy won’t pay and he won’t listen “ said one source, referring to the fact that Trump has previously been known to bilk both contractors who had done work for him, and the very same law firms he had subsequently used to fend off those angry creditors.
An even more intriguing reason hinted at by some law firms is that they also foresaw potential conflict of interest issues given that many of them already represent major U.S. banks and financial institutions. The implication of this is that subpoenas for financial disclosure evidence in respect of international money laundering allegations may have already been issued against such banks in respect of Trump’s business empire and its financial dealings.
http://www.palmerreport.com/politics/banks-subpoenas-trump-laundering/3340/
The reluctance of top law firms to take on Trump’s brief may help to explain why the POTUS has chosen the firm of Mark E. Kasowitz as his chief legal representatives. The New York based practice has little experience in conducting cases of this type. They are mainly famous for lower court litigation against critics of Trump’s business methods, cases that are often eventually abandoned. They also specialise in defending state Enterprise Corruption, and RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations) cases brought by federal authorities.