Update (6/2/25): On May 27, Judge Leon joined his colleagues in also denying the federal government’s motion to dismiss WilmerHale’s suit and granting the law firm’s motion for summary judgment. Judge Leon determined that Trump’s EO targeting WilmerHale violated the law firm’s First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights, as well as its clients’ First and Sixth Amendment rights, and granted the firm a permanent injunction.
Update (05/23/2025): On May 23, Judge Bates denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss Jenner & Block’s suit and granted the law firm’s motion for summary judgment. Like Judge Howell in the Perkins Coie lawsuit, Judge Bates determined that the Trump EO unconstitutionally retaliated against the law firm and sought to silence its protected speech. The court also granted a permanent injunction barring the federal government from enforcing its EO against Jenner.
Update (05/02/2025): On May 2, Judge Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss Perkins Coie’s suit and granted the law firm’s motion for summary judgment. The Court held that Trump’s EO targeting the law firm constituted unconstitutional retaliation and viewpoint discrimination and compelled disclosure of information, all in violation of the First Amendment; denied equal protection of the laws in violation of the Equal Protection Clause; denied the right of counsel to plaintiff’s clients, in violation of the Sixth Amendment; and denied due process and was unconstitutionally vague, in violation of the Fifth Amendment. The Court granted Perkins Coie permanent injunctive relief against the EO.
Update (4/25/2025): On April 25, NWLC again joined coalition partners in filing an amicus brief in support of Susman Godfrey LLP as it challenges yet another retaliatory executive order issued by the Trump Administration.
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Last week, NWLC joined other coalition partners in filing amicus briefs in support of Perkins Coie LLP, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, and Jenner & Block LLP in their challenges to Trump’s retaliatory executive orders (EOs). All three amicus briefs argued that Trump’s EOs targeting these law firms are profoundly unconstitutional because they violate the First Amendment rights of both the firms and NGOs like NWLC. The briefs also explained that these EOs, and others like them, are blatant affronts to the rule of law that undergirds the entire American legal system.