{"id":964,"date":"2025-03-29T00:53:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T00:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/03\/29\/law-firms-jenner-block-and-wilmerhale-sue-trump-administration-to-block-executive-orders-the-new-york-times\/"},"modified":"2025-03-29T00:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T00:53:00","slug":"law-firms-jenner-block-and-wilmerhale-sue-trump-administration-to-block-executive-orders-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/03\/29\/law-firms-jenner-block-and-wilmerhale-sue-trump-administration-to-block-executive-orders-the-new-york-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Law Firms Jenner &#038; Block and WilmerHale Sue Trump Administration to Block Executive Orders &#8211; The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"site-content\">\n<article id=\"story\">\n<div id=\"top-wrapper\">\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/#after-top\">SKIP ADVERTISEMENT<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2 data-testid=\"headline\">As Firms Sue to Stop Trump\u2019s Executive Orders, a Split Emerges in Big Law<\/h2>\n<p>The president has targeted firms that he claims have \u201cweaponized\u201d the legal system. On Friday, Jenner &#038; Block and WilmerHale fought back in court, while Mr. Trump said he\u2019d reached a deal with Skadden to avert an executive order.<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageContainer-children-Image\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)\" ><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)\" ><source media=\"(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The name Jenner &#038; Block on a sign.\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/03\/28\/multimedia\/28jenner-lawsuit-bfkq\/28jenner-lawsuit-bfkq-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&#038;auto=webp&#038;disable=upscale\"   decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\"><\/picture><\/div><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-ImageCaption\"><span>The lawsuits filed by Jenner &#038; Block and Wilmer Hale are an indication that some law firms are willing to fight President Trump\u2019s campaign targeting firms he doesn\u2019t like.<\/span><span><span>Credit&#8230;<\/span><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Andrew Kelly\/Reuters<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><time datetime=\"2025-03-28T19:50:59-04:00\"><span>March 28, 2025<\/span><span>Updated <span>7:50 p.m. ET<\/span><\/span><\/time><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section name=\"articleBody\">\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<p>The nation\u2019s legal profession is being split between those that want to fight back against President Trump\u2019s attacks on the industry and those that prefer to engage in the art of the deal.<\/p>\n<p>Two big firms sued the Trump administration on Friday, seeking to stop executive orders that could impair their ability to represent clients. The lawsuits filed by Jenner &#038; Block and WilmerHale highlight how some elite firms are willing to fight Mr. Trump\u2019s campaign targeting those he doesn\u2019t like, while others, like Paul Weiss and Skadden, have cut deals to appease the president.<\/p>\n<p>In recent weeks, Mr. Trump has issued similarly styled <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/22\/us\/politics\/trump-memo-lawyers.html\" title>executive orders<\/a> against firms that he perceives as enemies and threats to national security. The orders could create an existential crisis for firms because they would strip lawyers of security clearances, bar them from entering federal buildings and discourage federal officials from interacting with the firms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am heartened by the fact that Jenner and Wilmer are joining Perkins in pushing back on these illegal executive orders. It shows that capitulation is not the only route,\u201d said Matthew Diller, a law professor and former dean of Fordham University School of Law. \u201cIn the long run, it will strengthen their reputations in the market as forceful advocates who stand up for principle, a quality that many clients will value.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<p>Jenner &#038; Block said in a statement that its suit was intended to \u201cstop an unconstitutional executive order that has already been declared unlawful by a federal court.\u201d A third firm, Perkins Coie, has also sued the Trump administration over the same matter, and had some early success in stopping the executive order.<\/p>\n<p>Jenner &#038; Block also created a website \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jennerfirm.com\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Jenner Stands Firm<\/a> \u2014 to publicize its filing and to highlight newspaper editorials criticizing the executive orders and comments from law school professors questioning the legality of Mr. Trump\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<p>On Friday evening, Judge John Bates of Federal District Court in Washington issued a temporary restraining order that bars the Trump administration from punishing Jenner &#038; Block. The judge called the portion of the executive order that criticizes the pro bono legal work the firm does for organizations \u201cdisturbing\u201d and \u201ctroubling.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The effort to fight back in a public manner stands in contrast with the way other firms have handled Mr. Trump\u2019s campaign against them.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Friday, Mr. Trump told reporters that the White House had reached a deal with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher &#038; Flom that would require the firm to provide $100 million in pro bono legal services to causes he supports. Skadden and Mr. Trump reached a deal <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/27\/business\/trump-law-firms-skadden-arps.html\" title>after the law firm had reached<\/a> out behind the scenes to head off the filing of an executive order against it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<p>\u201cWe very much appreciate their coming to the table,\u201d Mr. Trump said.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, Skadden said, \u201cWe engaged proactively with the president and his team in working together constructively to reach this agreement.\u201d The firm added that the agreement \u201cis in the best interests of our clients, our people and our firm.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Last week, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton &#038; Garrison <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/21\/us\/politics\/paul-weiss-trump.html\" title>announced<\/a> an agreement in which Mr. Trump rescinded his executive order against the law firm in exchange for its committing to represent clients regardless of their political leanings and pledging $40 million in pro bono legal services to issues Mr. Trump has championed.<\/p>\n<p>Paul Weiss reached its deal within days of Mr. Trump\u2019s executive order after the firm\u2019s chairman, Brad Karp, flew from New York for an Oval Office meeting with the president and some of his staff. Mr. Karp said in an email to the firm that he had moved quickly because Paul Weiss\u2019s big corporate clients were threatened with the \u201closs of their government contracts and the loss of access to the government\u201d if they stuck with the firm.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Karp cast the deal as a move to save Paul Weiss, which employs about 2,000 people. He also complained that other law firms had not come out to support Paul Weiss.<\/p>\n<p>But that deal was widely criticized. The firm \u2014 which is stocked with Democrats who have opposed Mr. Trump \u2014 was seen as bending to the president to protect its bottom line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<p>\u201cA large part of this are business decisions being made by law firms,\u201d said Rebecca Roiphe, a former prosecutor and a professor at New York Law School who specializes in legal ethics. \u201cThese firms are calculating that their clients will feel aligned with their decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump has been going after big law firms that he contends have \u201cweaponized\u201d the legal system. He is initially targeting law firms that hired lawyers who were once involved in the many investigations of his actions during his first presidential term and his business dealings.<\/p>\n<p>The executive orders have been premised on Mr. Trump\u2019s notion that the law firms\u2019 partisan representations and pro bono work for groups that he disagrees with could pose a threat to national security.<\/p>\n<p>A White House spokesman, Harrison Fields, said in a statement: \u201cDemocrats and their law firms weaponized the legal process to try to punish and jail their political opponents. The president\u2019s executive orders are lawful directives to ensure that the president\u2019s agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The suit by Jenner &#038; Block was filed in federal court in Washington, and the firm is asking a judge to step in immediately and stop the executive order, which was leveled against it by Mr. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/25\/us\/politics\/trump-executive-order-law-firm-jenner-block.html\" title>this week<\/a>. The firm is being represented by Cooley, another law firm. The lawsuit named numerous government agencies and officials as defendants.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<p>WilmerHale filed its lawsuit in the same federal court and is being represented by Paul Clement, a solicitor general during the administration of President George W. Bush. A federal judge who heard a request Friday for a temporary restraining order on that executive order said he was leaning toward granting it but planned to issue a written ruling.<\/p>\n<p>Jenner &#038; Block and WilmerHale represent some of the nation\u2019s biggest companies, and often deal with regulatory issues before government agencies. Jenner &#038; Block has represented the defense contractor General Dynamics, as well as the entertainment giant Viacom, while one of WilmerHale\u2019s major clients is JPMorgan Chase.<\/p>\n<p>The executive order accused the firm of engaging \u201cin obvious partisan representations to achieve political ends\u201d and claimed the firm \u201cdiscriminates against its employees based on race and other categories prohibited by civil rights laws, including through the use of race-based \u2018targets.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The executive orders against both Jenner &#038; Block and WilmerHale focused, in large part, on the work of lawyers with the federal investigation into ties between Mr. Trump\u2019s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. The investigation was led by a special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, a former director of the F.B.I. who was a partner at WilmerHale.<\/p>\n<p>One of Mr. Mueller\u2019s top assistants on that investigation was Andrew Weissmann, a longtime federal prosecutor and former partner at Jenner &#038; Block.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<p>Both Mr. Mueller and Mr. Weissmann rejoined their firms after the investigation was completed. The lawyers left their firms in 2021. But on the WilmerHale website, there <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wilmerhale.com\/en\/insights\/news\/20201203-robert-s-mueller-iii-discusses-his-remarkable-life-and-career-in-a-rare-interview\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">is a page devoted<\/a> to a lengthy interview with Mr. Mueller, who is normally media-averse, in which he discusses his \u201cremarkable life and career.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jenner &#038; Block\u2019s complaint said Mr. Trump\u2019s action was unconstitutional and would compromise the ability of the firm\u2019s more than 500 lawyers to \u201czealously advocate for its clients.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The lawsuit noted that Mr. Trump\u2019s deal with Paul Weiss did not include any new security measures imposed on that firm.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, WilmerHale, which has about 1,000 lawyers, said the president\u2019s executive order \u201cis a plainly unlawful attack on the bedrock principles of our nation\u2019s legal system \u2014 our clients\u2019 right to counsel and the First Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perkins Coie, one of the first law firms targeted by Mr. Trump, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/03\/11\/us\/politics\/perkins-coie-sues-trump.html\" title>sued<\/a> him earlier this month. A federal judge temporarily halted Mr. Trump\u2019s order, saying it was likely illegal and adding: \u201cIt sends little chills down my spine.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<p>Vanita Gupta, a civil rights lawyer and former senior Justice Department official in the Biden and Obama administrations, said the new lawsuits were necessary in a time of peril for the legal profession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe only way through this attack on the very foundations of our legal system is by fighting back,\u201d Ms. Gupta said. \u201cIf firms want to be trusted to fight the biggest fights, they must not cave to blatantly unconstitutional government actions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She praised the three firms that are fighting the administration and said she hoped others would do the same because \u201ccollective action is the only way to pull through in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Trump\u2019s executive order against Paul Weiss was motivated in part by the fact that a former partner at that firm has worked with the Manhattan district attorney\u2019s office in trying to build a criminal case against Mr. Trump after he lost the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>One pattern of the executive orders is going after law firms that have employed attorneys whom Mr. Trump\u2019s sees as his personal enemies. One of those is Mr. Weissmann, whom Mr. Trump has often lashed out against on his social media platform, Truth Social.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<p>Mr. Weissmann has a reputation as an aggressive investigator. In recent years, he has emerged as a public critic of Mr. Trump, appearing frequently on MSNBC to provide legal analysis about the range of indictments Mr. Trump faced for his conduct.<\/p>\n<p>In the complaint, the firm said Mr. Weissmann had not worked for it since 2021. It also noted that it has had prominent lawyers from all political parties on its staff.<\/p>\n<p>Tyler Pager contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>A correction was made on<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>March 28, 2025<\/p>\n<p>:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>An earlier version of this article misspelled, in some instances, the surname of a longtime federal prosecutor and former partner at Jenner &#038; Block. He is Andrew Weissmann, not Weissman. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations.<span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/by\/michael-s-schmidt\">More about Michael S. Schmidt<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>A version of this article appears in print on <span>\u00a0<\/span> of the New York edition<\/p>\n<p> with the headline: <\/p>\n<p>GIVE IN OR FIGHT? ELITE LAW FIRMS SPLIT ON TRUMP.<span>. <a href=\"https:\/\/nytimes.wrightsmedia.com\/\">Order Reprints<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/section\/todayspaper\">Today\u2019s Paper<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscriptions\/Multiproduct\/lp8HYKU.html?campaignId=48JQY\">Subscribe<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"bottom-wrapper\">\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/#after-bottom\">SKIP ADVERTISEMENT<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT As Firms Sue to Stop Trump\u2019s Executive Orders, a Split Emerges in Big Law The president has targeted firms that he claims have \u201cweaponized\u201d the legal system. On Friday, Jenner &#038; Block and WilmerHale fought back in court, while Mr. Trump said he\u2019d reached a deal with Skadden to avert an executive [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":965,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/965"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}