Copyright The Boston Globe
When Mark Wolf started looking for a professional life beyond his 40-year career as a federal judge, he called one law firm over the summer: Boston’s Todd & Weld. The Reagan appointee discussed his resignation from the bench with much fanfare, via a widely read essay that the Atlantic published on Sunday in which he expressed frustration with President Trump’s use of the law “for partisan purposes” such as targeting political enemies. Then the 78-year-old quietly went to work, starting on Monday at Todd & Weld as senior counsel. In a brief statement, Wolf said he’s long admired the firm and its commitment to public service, and it was the only one he considered joining after leaving the bench. Founding partner Howard Cooper said he’s known Wolf since he first started wearing judges’ robes in the mid-1980s. Wolf, he said, called him over the summer to say he was going to quit in large part because he couldn’t be silent any longer about the threats he sees coming from Washington that could undermine democracy and the legal system. “We really had meaningful discussions about what that meant,” Cooper said. “He thought there might be shared values. ... I became very excited about the idea of him joining us so he could help us with our clients, with his wise and unique counsel, given his experience, and we can be supportive of him in helping with his efforts in trying to preserve the rule of law.” Advertisement Cooper and four other colleagues formed the firm in 1991, largely coming from what was then Hale and Dorr, now WilmerHale, to focus on litigation. Both firms, Cooper noted, have rich public service traditions. Wolf will advise Todd & Weld clients on civil and criminal litigation matters, while also working on bolstering democracy through the firm’s pro bono practice and amicus briefs in support of like-minded causes. Trump filed executive orders against law firms where his political enemies once worked that threatened to block their access to federal contractors and buildings, and many of the bigger firms have been cautious in pushing back. Cooper said that’s why it’s important for small and mid-sized shops like his — Todd & Weld has around 60 lawyers — to step up. Advertisement Cooper said his firm has multiple clients who have expressed their concerns over the White House’s “weaponization of the law.” “I am 100 percent supportive of Judge Wolf’s desire to speak out at this moment, given what is happening in our country,” said Cooper, who sits on the ACLU Massachusetts board of directors. “For me, it’s a real privilege to partner with him and help him do that in any way I can. I think we are at a moment in our history where people are questioning [whether they can get] equal access and equal justice under the law.” This is an installment of our weekly Bold Types column about the movers and shakers on Boston’s business scene. Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto.
