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Areas of Interest
March 8th, 2022
Jan. 6 Panel has Tough Case to Make on Trump Criminal Conspiracy
Ethics & Professional Responsibility Litigation Partner John B. Harris was quoted in the article, “Jan. 6 Panel has Tough Case to Make on Trump Criminal Conspiracy” published by The Hill. The article discusses the Jan. 6 riot investigation committee’s investigation into the attack on the capital and the committee’s newest claim that Trump engaged in a criminal conspiracy in his effort to overturn the 2020 election results. The filing by the committee looks to persuade a federal judge that it should be allowed to obtain Trump campaign attorney John Eastman’s communications. John B. Harris explains details could waver in a larger case against Trump because the department of justice would need to show he had intent to defraud as he carried out his plans. John says, “Here I think the problem is that if Trump's defense may be that he truly, truly believed these measures might be justifiable and decided to believe one set of advisers or another. The Government can bang on the table a lot say, ‘Well, you had more — and more credible — advisers on the side that said you need to stop this.’ And you had advisers using very strong language that it's illegal and unsupportable,” adding, “But if he had his own mindset that something terrible happened here … that creates a bit of a swamp and some murkiness that the government will have to deal with at a trial to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump did this knowing that it was all a sham.”
John, who specializes in attorney-client privilege, says that the question of whether the crime-fraud exception applies is not clear-cut. “To me, the tricky part of this is that Eastman apparently believed that as an academic theory what he was proposing about Pence or the electors was plausible. If that was something that he believed was a fair extension or interpretation of the law, that gives him some protection. It wouldn't automatically be a crime or fraud for him to propound an academic theory even if he believed that it was certain to lose.”
Read the full article here.
Other Quoted
In Suits and Ties, Lawyers Protest Trump’s Attacks on the Legal System
The New York Times quotes Ronald C. Minkoff in its coverage of the May 1, 2025 National Law Day of Action, in which approximately 1,500 people in Manhattan protested the U.S. president’s threats against judges, lawyers and the rule of law. Legal groups organized attorneys across the country to show their opposition to the Trump administration’s defiance of court orders, targeting of law firms, and wrongful deportations. The lawyers reaffirmed their promise to uphold the rule of law and recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Foley Square protest organizers requested that attorneys dress in suits—as if going to court and carry pocket Constitutions. “‘We want people to see that we treat this issue with utmost respect,’ said Ronald C. Minkoff, a defense lawyer and an organizer. ‘This is like the courtroom to us.’” View Article
May 1 2025
Attys Join Nationwide ‘Day Of Action’ Rallies For Rule Of Law
Law360 quotes Ronald C. Minkoff on the thousands of attorneys who rallied across the country on May 1, National Law Day, to publicly oppose the Trump administration’s attack on the rule of law. The article stated, “New York County Lawyers Association vice president and noted legal ethics expert Ron Minkoff of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC, said the rallies came together fairly organically as bar associations across the country began looking at ways to spotlight the Trump administrations actions against judges and lawyers and then realized National Law Day of Action was just a few weeks away.” Mr. Minkoff stated that he doesn’t normally go to demonstrations but these are things that stir him to action. “’When the ability of lawyers to represent their clients is under threat, that is an attack on one of the pillars of the American system, the American experiment,’ he added.” View article. (Behind paywall)
May 1 2025
Jonah Brill and Spouse Emma Brill Featured on Cardozo Law School Podcast
Jonah Brill and his wife Emma Brill are interviewed on their alma mater’s audio publication SPARKS: A Cardozo School of Law Podcast | Cardozo Law. Having met as first-year law students at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, they discuss how their law school affected their personal lives and chosen career paths. They share their class recommendations, “insights into the complexities of tax law,” and “lessons learned along the way.” Listen here.
April 8 2025
