A series of new agreements brokered between President Trump and major law firms suggests a new price tag for those looking to dodge executive orders targeting the legal profession.

Nine firms have now signed agreements with the administration, with Trump announcing five new deals on Friday that reached a new high price – $125 million each for four of the firms.

It’s an escalation from deals announced just a few weeks ago requiring firms to do $100 million in pro bono work for causes championed by the Trump administration.

Law firms have been hashing deals with the White House in the wake of a series of executive orders targeting specific law firms, revoking any security clearances held by their lawyers, reviewing any contracts they hold with the government, and barring them from entering federal buildings.

“You can look at it as extortion and a shakedown, or you could look at it as a bribe from the other perspective – or it may be both,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee.

“But it's absolutely outrageous that the president threatens and intimidates lawyers by banning them from federal government buildings and contracts and security clearance, and then the firms basically have to pay their way out of this kind of banning and shunning.”

The executive orders are not the only thorn in the side of firms.

Many were also contacted by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) asking firms questions about their hiring practices and implying firms’ efforts to diversify their workforce could violate employment laws.

The signatories to the $125 million deals – Kirkland and Ellis, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, and Latham & Watkins – had all received EEOC letters.

Kirkland and........

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