US law firms were warned of the risks of agreeing deals with Donald Trump by a judge who last week struck down the president’s executive order targeting Perkins Coie.
Ruling last Friday, Washington DC District Judge Beryl A. Howell declared Trump’s order null and void as it violated the constitution, including free speech rights and clients’ rights to counsel. The president’s March order suspended security clearance for Perkins Coie personnel and ended government contracts, citing the firm’s work for Hillary Clinton and ‘activist donors including George Soros’.
‘In a cringe-worthy twist on the theatrical phrase “Let’s kill all the lawyers,” [the order] takes the approach of “Let’s kill the lawyers I don’t like,” sending the clear message: lawyers must stick to the party line, or else,’ Judge Howell wrote. ‘This message has been heard and heeded by some targeted law firms, as reflected in their choice, to agree to demand terms, perhaps viewing this choice as the best alternative for their clients and employees.’
She added: ‘Yet, some clients may harbour reservations about the implications of such deals for the vigorous and zealous representation to which they are entitled from ethically responsible counsel, since at least the publicised deal terms appear only to forestall, rather than eliminate, the threat of being targeted in an Executive Order.’
Howell’s decision is the first summary ruling in one of four cases brought by firms sanctioned by Trump. Jenner & Block, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, and Susman Godfrey have also challenged executive orders. According to US media, at least nine other firms have reached agreements with the White House to avoid being penalised by the president.
Meanwhile, a veteran Washington DC criminal attorney has set up a new firm in part to represent those ‘unlawfully and inappropriately targeted’ by the Trump administration.
Former Winston & Strawn partner Abbe Lowell, who has represented high-profile clients including Hunter Biden and Jared Kushner, said Lowell & Associates will provide legal representation and counsel to individuals and institutions ‘facing politicised investigations, civil and administrative actions’.
He is joined at the new firm by Brenna Trout Frey, a former Skadden associate who quit that firm over its $100m deal with Trump.
