Vivia Chen

1 month ago | abovethelaw.com | Vivia Chen

Ed. note: Please welcome Vivia Chen back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, “The Ex-Careerist,”here. STOP, JUST STOP, calling what Donald Trump has extracted from Biglaw “pro bono.”It is such an obvious sham. Yet the media use that term liberally — without quote marks, mind you — as if it were true. To put it bluntly, nine of the nation’s most profitable law firms cut deals with the administration in order to get off the president’s personal shit list.

2 months ago | abovethelaw.com | Vivia Chen |Sean Fitzpatrick

Ed. note: Please welcome Vivia Chen back to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, “The Ex-Careerist,”here. THE NUMBER “3” has always struck me as talismanic. That’s the number of wishes you get from the genie. It’s the holy trinity. And, of course, three strikes, you’re out. So when Donald Trump fired off his latest retaliatory executive order against a third major law firm – this time, the powerhouse firm of Paul Weiss – it felt like an inflection point.

Feb 28, 2025 | asianamericans.einnews.com | Vivia Chen |Charles River Associates

(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)Ed. note: Please welcome Vivia Chen to the pages of Above the Law. Subscribe to her Substack, “The Ex-Careerist,” here. I CAN’T HELP BUT PUT MYSELF IN HER SHOES. As an Asian American woman who’s also married to a white man with roots in Ohio, I keep wondering what exactly is going through Usha Vance’s head these days as she watches her husband go out of his way to defend racists. JD Vance has displayed a pattern of lending comfort and aid to racists.

Feb 20, 2025 | viviachen.substack.com | Vivia Chen

I CAN’T HELP BUT PUT MYSELF IN HER SHOES. As an Asian American woman who’s also married to a white man with roots in Ohio, I keep wondering what exactly is going through Usha Vance’s head these days as she watches her husband go out of his way to defend racists. JD Vance has displayed a pattern of lending comfort and aid to racists. Still, two recent incidents make me wonder how much more of this nonsense Usha can stomach.

Feb 3, 2025 | viviachen.substack.com | Vivia Chen

Last week, the renowned Wall Street law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell announced that it’s taken on a new client: Donald Trump. Specifically, it is representing the president in his appeal of his criminal conviction for paying $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels, the adult film star. I know everyone is entitled to representation, even the most repugnant among us, including sexual predators, hate mongers, and scoundrels (anyone come to mind?).