Getting fined by a federal appeals court for making frivolous arguments that “[n]o reasonable lawyer would have filed” doesn’t typically yield the offender a $50+ million, four-year deal to serve as a corporate general counsel. But that’s the sweet offer Alina Habba got on October 20, 2026, when one-year old Concord Partners, a firm that purports to specialize in mergers and acquisitions, made her general counsel.
Concord was founded by Isabela Velutini, who gifted $3.5 million to Donald Trump’s super PAC. She hoped that would suffice to get her billionaire papa, Julio Herrera Velutini, a full pardon, and wipe the memory of his federal bribery charge. But when Herrera’s pardon request languished, Isabela raised her offer, hiring Habba at Concord. Trump then pardoned Herrera and Habba got her seven-figure deal.
Win-win.
It was the least Trump could do for Habba. In her time representing Trump, she’d proven her mettle: snookering an employee at Trump’s Bedminister, NJ, club into signing an illegal NDA to silence her about a sexual misconduct accusation; suing the New York Times and Trump’s niece for $100 million (case dismissed); representing Trump for falsely representing the value of his assets, allegations that prompted Trump to plead the 5th Amendment 450 times in a deposition; and defending Trump in E. Jean Carroll’s sexual assault suit, wherein Habba was repeatedly reprimanded by the judge and Carroll awarded an $83.3 million judgment.
Not a great won-loss record. But no matter. Habba was unsurpassed in her servility to Donald Trump. And pretty, not that her cosmetic appeal would matter to the former owner of the Miss Universe Organization. Trump tried to appoint Habba acting US attorney for New Jersey. But the Third Circuit ruled her appointment was unlawful. Sad.
Then again, acting US attorneys are capped at $195k per year, less than 2% what she’s drawing at Concord.
