In an executive order released on Saturday titled “Preventing Abuses of the Legal System and the Federal Court,” President Trump announced his plan to sanction law firms who engage in “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation against the United States”, especially regarding cases “that implicate national security, homeland security, public safety, or election integrity.” The order singled out one lawyer and firm in particular – Marc Elias and Elias Group LLP – accusing them of “grossly unethical misconduct” for their work with “failed presidential candidate” Hillary Clinton’s campaign in 2016.
Elias responded through a post on X from his firm’s official account, declaring that “there will be no negotiation with this White House about the clients we represent or the lawsuits we bring on their behalf.” Elias’ communiqué also accuses the president of seeking retribution against his political enemies, and warns that “decisions made by lawyers and their firms may very well determine the future of the rule of law in the United States.”
This latest order emerges out of a broader trend from the Trump administration of targeting law firms. On March 6th and March 15th, the president issued two other executive orders specifically targeting Perkins Coie LLP (where Marc Elias once worked) and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Garrison & Wharton, respectively. Both orders barred lawyers from those firms from entering federal buildings, discouraged federal employees from speaking with them, and called for a review of their security clearances, all of which would severely hamper their ability to represent their clients.
The firms of Perkins Coie and Paul, Weiss have taken dramatically different stances on the orders targeting them. The former has sued the Trump administration over the order, alleging that Trump’s order violates bedrock constitutional principles such as the separation of powers, as well as the First and Fifth Amendments. The White House has since moved to disqualify the federal judge assigned to the case, accusing her of political bias.
Paul, Weiss, however, has gone in the opposite direction, with the firm’s chairman, Brad S. Karp, making a deal with the president in the Oval Office on Wednesday morning, according to reports. The day after their meeting, Trump announced that Paul, Weiss would be performing $40 million in pro bono legal services for the White House, such as a Justice Department task force on antisemitism among other “mutually agreed projects.”
The legal community has broadly expressed outrage at Paul, Weiss’ response to Trump’s order, given that it is a large firm with the resources necessary to take on the White House in court (Paul, Weiss earned $2.63 billion in revenue last year and represents corporate clients like Exxon Mobil). “The example they are setting is to surrender to unlawful orders rather than fight them in court,” said former prosecutor with the New York District Attorney’s Office John Moscow.
The executive order pertaining to Paul, Weiss has been withdrawn since the deal made with the White House.
