A law firm that has represented Donald Trump’s businesses and political campaigns for many years abruptly asked to withdraw from a case that has been going on for a while now because it says there’s been an “irreparable breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
LaRocca, Hornik, Greenberg, Rosen, Kittridge, Carlin and McPartland has represented the political operation Trump heads in many different lawsuits that date back to his first run for president eight years ago. The firm has helped the former president secure multiple dismissals and settlements, and has billed Trump almost $3 million total for its services.
Late last week, though, the firm requested that a federal magistrate judge allow it to withdraw from a lawsuit that was filed by A.J. Delgado, a former communications adviser to the Trump campaign.
Delgado has claimed that the campaign sidelined her in 2016 after she revealed that she was pregnant.
This request came only two days following an order from that same federal court that every complaint of discrimination related to gender, pregnancy or sexual harassment from both the 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns be turned over.
The defendants in the case have long tried to avoid turning those documents over.
Jared Blumetti, who serves as the lead lawyer for the firm in the case, made the request, which was filed in Manhattan’s federal court. He didn’t provide specific details about the dispute in the filing, instead requesting permission to “explain” it all to the judge in a private setting.
Blumetti also didn’t respond to a comment request from several media outlets including The New York Times.
The departure of this law firm that Trump apparently trusted so much comes at a very busy time for the former president and presumptive GOP nominee. The third week of his criminal trial in the hush money case is ongoing, and he’s also facing three other criminal trials — two at the federal level and one in Georgia.
This new development is just the latest in Trump parting ways with his legal representation, or vice versa.
Joe Tacopina, one of his former defense lawyers, announced in January that he wouldn’t represent Trump anymore. In 2023, four other attorneys stepped aside from representing the former president in various criminal and civil cases.
On Monday, Delgado objected to the law firm’s withdrawal. She argued that the court shouldn’t allow this to happen until the process of discovery has finished. Delgado, who is representing herself in this case, also said that the request was just a “scheme to avoid compliance.”
Katharine Parker, the magistrate judge, ruled that LaRocca Hornik would need to continue representing the Trump campaign for now. She also said she’d schedule a conference with the firm as well as the campaign to further discuss the situation.
The law firm has represented Trump in a variety of ways for at least the last 10 years. It received $1.8 million from Trump’s campaigns for president between September of 2016 and December of 2020, according to records on file with the Federal Election Commission.
