May 23 (Reuters) - Four partners are leaving law firm

Paul Weiss, after it struck a deal in March with U.S. President

Donald Trump to lift an executive order that targeted the firm.

Karen Dunn, Bill Isaacson, Jeannie Rhee and Jessica Phillips

said in an internal email obtained by Reuters they were

departing to form a new practice together.

"We were disappointed not to be able to tell each of you

personally and individually the news that we have decided to

leave Paul, Weiss to start a new law firm," the email said. "It

has been an honor to work alongside such talented lawyers and to

call so many of you our friends."

The four did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.

The email did not mention Paul Weiss' deal with Trump, in

which the firm pledged $40 million in free legal work to support

mutually agreed causes with the administration. Eight other law

firms have since made similar deals with the White House.

"We are grateful to Bill, Jeannie, Jessica and Karen for

their many contributions to the firm," Paul Weiss Chairman Brad

Karp said in a statement on Friday.

Dunn, co-chair of the firm's litigation department, is a

leading Washington lawyer and prominent Democrat, having served

in the Obama White House and later on the debate prep team for

Trump's 2024 election opponent Kamala Harris.

She is Google's lead attorney in a lawsuit by the

U.S. Justice Department accusing the company of monopolizing

digital advertising markets.

Rhee joined Paul Weiss in 2019, after serving on the

prosecution team led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller that

probed any connections between Trump's 2016 presidential

campaign and Moscow.

Isaacson, a veteran antitrust lawyer, joined Paul Weiss in

2020 from Boies Schiller Flexner along with Dunn and Phillips.

Four law firms have sued the Trump administration over

executive orders like the one Trump rescinded against Paul

Weiss, which threatened the firms' access to government

officials and federal contracting work.

A judge on Friday struck down Trump's order against Jenner &

Block, following a similar ruling this month for Perkins Coie.