Federal judges have partially blocked President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting two major law firms, saying the firms are likely to succeed on their claims that the orders violate the first amendment.
Legal Battles Unfold
Senior U.S. District Judges John Bates and Richard Leon, both appointees of President George W. Bush, issued their rulings in favor of law firms Jenner & Block and WilmerHale after back-to-back Friday hearings at the federal courthouse in Washington.
“The legal profession as a whole is watching and wondering if their courtroom activities … will cause the government to turn their eyes to them next,” Bates said.
In delivering his ruling, Bates called the executive order’s references to Jenner & Block’s pro-bono work “disturbing” and said the reasons the order gives for targeting the firm cannot survive a constitutional challenge. The executive order gives “lip service” to public safety and national security, Bates said, adding that even if he agreed with Trump’s assertions about the dangers posed by Jenner & Block, the sanctions in the order “sweep far too broadly.”
The Friday evening rulings come as Trump has embarked upon a retribution campaign against law firms, issuing executive orders against multiple firms in recent weeks that would strip security clearances from attorneys and hamper firms’ ability to interface with the federal government. While some firms have opted to strike deals with Trump, three — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale — have successfully challenged the executive orders in court.
“The retaliatory nature of the Executive Order at issue here is clear from its face,” Leon wrote in his order. “There is no doubt this retaliatory action chills speech and legal advocacy, or that it qualifies as a constitutional harm.”
Attorneys representing both law firms pointed to the chilling effect of the executive orders Trump has signed targeting law firms in recent weeks. Potential clients are unlikely to hire a law firm on the outs with the federal government, Leon pointed out.
“They’re gonna go down the street to a different firm that doesn’t have a sword of Damocles hanging over its head,” he said.
The Jenner executive order focused on the role that a former member of the firm — Andrew Weissmann — played in the investigation of Trump’s links to Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign. Weissmann has not worked at Jenner & Block since 2021. The Russia investigation eventually was helmed by special counsel Robert Mueller, who previously worked at WilmerHale. Trump targeted that firm with an order signed Thursday evening.
One point of contention during both hearings was the government’s contention that the orders don’t actually bar employees of Jenner & Block and WilmerHale from entering government buildings. Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson told both judges he doesn’t understand the orders to immediately block employees of either firm from government buildings, they just call on agency heads to develop guidance on the topic.
Bates at times grew frustrated with Lawson, who repeatedly deferred to as-yet unwritten agency guidance that will determine the full scope of the orders.
“It would be nice if the executive order, and you speaking for it, knew what it applied to,” Bates said.
Neither order enjoined the portion of the executive orders that direct the attorney general and other agency heads to suspend security clearances held by firm employees pending further review.
Jenner & Block and WilmerHale both filed lawsuits Friday morning challenging their executive orders. Earlier this month, a third federal judge issued an order temporarily blocking portions of an executive order targeting law firm Perkins Coie.
