Although I don’t see Jones Day telling Trump “you’re fired,” I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Don McGahn and his associates voluntarily departing at some point to set up their own election-law practice. When you have controversial clients, it’s easier to be in a boutique, with fewer clients, lawyers, and constituencies who might be offended by a given representation. That’s why it made perfect sense for Paul Clement, after leaving King & Spalding, to take his practice to Bancroft, the high-powered boutique known for representing prominent conservative clients.
It’s worth noting that McGahn is far from a fixture at Jones Day. He has been at the firm for less than two years; he joined in spring 2014, fleeing the wreckage of Patton Boggs (around the time it got absorbed by Squire Sanders). So it wouldn’t be insane for him to go out on his own — and it might reduce the potential for tension or conflict between his practice and the practices of fellow election-law partners like Benjamin Ginsbergand William McGinley.
(Although there are so-called “Chinese walls” to protect against conflicts, having several prominent members of a very small practice area under the same roof can create awkwardness, even in the absence of direct conflict. Ben Ginsberg, viewed by many as the dean of the election-law bar, previously represented the Scott Walker campaign. The Walker campaign died months ago, but Ginsberg continues to write and speak on television about a brokered GOP convention — which Trump views as synonymous with robbing him of the Republican presidential nomination. This might have gone unnoticed by the Trump campaign, which doesn’t strike me as a very detail-oriented operation — but if Trump were to notice it, I could certainly see him placing an irate call to his law firm, Jones Day.)