American Bar Association Sues Trump Administration Over Executive Orders Targeting Law Firms

The American Bar Association is suing the White House to stop President Donald Trump’s use of executive orders to punish and pressure law firms.

The ABA — a voluntary professional organization for lawyers — alleged in its complaint filed in federal court in Washington Monday that the executive orders pursued by the Trump administration, as well as the deals it has reached with some of America’s top law firms seeking a reprieve from federal sanctions, have cast a “blizzard-like chill” across the legal industry.

“Since taking office earlier this year, President Trump has used the vast powers of the Executive Branch to coerce lawyers and law firms to abandon clients, causes, and policy positions the President does not like,” the ABA wrote in its Monday lawsuit.

Throughout his first several months in office, Trump has hammered major law firms, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, with executive orders and memos seeking to freeze their federal caseload and restricting lawyers from entering government buildings. Some of the country’s leading firms have made deals with the White House, pledging to provide millions in pro bono legal work towards causes favored by the president and eliminate in-house diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Meanwhile, two federal judges in May struck down orders targeting law firms Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block, ruling that they ran afoul of the Constitution.

Still, the ABA contended in its suit, “law firms that once proudly contributed thousands of hours of pro bono work to a host of causes—including causes championed by the ABA—have withdrawn from such work because it is disfavored by the Administration.”

In its suit, the ABA wrote that Trump’s “law firm intimidation policy” was in violation of the First Amendment in part because it threatened retaliation for “engaging in speech the government disfavors.” The organization also alleged the White House had violated the Constitution’s separation of powers.

The ABA also claimed that it and other organizations reliant on the pro bono work of DC law firms faced specific “serious and sometimes existential crises,” as a result of law firms' reaction to the president’s policy.

“This is the time to stand up, speak out and seek relief from our courts,” William R. Bay, president of the ABA, said in a statement accompanying the complaint. “There has never been a more urgent time for the ABA to defend its members, our profession and the rule of law itself.”

The Trump administration and ABA have clashed several times since he returned to the Oval Office in January. The organization lashed out at Trump’s attacks on law firms and judges in an open letter in March, writing that "the intimidating words and actions we have heard and seen must end." And Attorney General Pam Bondi in May barred the ABA from vetting the records of federal judicial nominees.

In a statement, White House spokesperson Harrison Fields called the lawsuit “clearly frivolous.”

“The President has always had discretion over which contracts the government enters into and who receives security clearances,” Fields said. “His exercise of these core executive functions cannot be dictated by the ABA, a private organization, or the courts. The Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue.”