MORE THAN 500 ASSOCIATES and staff at a top global law firm sent a letter Friday morning urging the firm’s leadership not to enter into a consent agreement with Donald Trump as the White House ramps up its targeting of the legal profession.

The effort being spearheaded by officials at Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP (A&O Shearman) was an attempt to stave off a deal first hinted at in a new report that the firm was among a group of big-name legal entities looking to craft a deal with the White House to avert restrictions on its business. But shortly after the letter was sent, Trump announced that the deal had been completed, with the firm set to provide $125 million in pro-bono legal services along with changes to its hiring practices.

The letter sent to A&O Shearman leadership acknowledged that the firm was “facing an unprecedented threat, and that there are no risk-free options in these circumstances.”

But, it added, “we firmly believe that agreements of this nature contribute to the degradation of the rule of law in the United States. Likewise, we firmly believe that a similar agreement would be detrimental to A&O Shearman’s business interests both in the United States and internationally, in terms of client relationships, employee retention, recruitment, and the firm’s US and global reputation, both now and in the future.”