President Donald Trump has escalated his administration’s campaign against legal opposition, issuing a directive aimed at punishing law firms that have challenged his policies. The memorandum, issued late Friday, directs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to impose sanctions on attorneys and firms engaged in what Trump describes as “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” against the government. The move has drawn widespread condemnation from civil rights groups and legal advocacy organizations, who argue it represents an unprecedented assault on legal professionals and the rule of law.
Trump’s memorandum calls for a sweeping review of litigation against the government dating back eight years, a clear attempt to target firms that opposed his administration’s past policies. The directive singles out immigration attorneys, alleging misconduct within the legal profession.
“The immigration system… is likewise replete with examples of unscrupulous behavior by attorneys and law firms. For instance, the immigration bar, and powerful Big Law pro bono practices, frequently coach clients to conceal their past or lie about their circumstances when asserting their asylum claims,” Trump wrote in the memo.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) rejected Trump’s accusations. “The broad assertion that immigration attorneys are acting improperly in their efforts to represent individuals against an increasingly complex and restrictive immigration system is both unfounded and dangerous,” wrote AILA President Kelli Stump and Executive Director Ben Johnson in a statement.
Civil rights groups have been quick to push back. Cecillia Wang, national legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), warned of the broader implications of Trump’s actions.
“This action by the president of the United States is a chilling and unprecedented attack on the foundations of liberty and democracy. Good lawyers, regardless of ideology or party, will remain undeterred in the honorable pursuit of our profession. We will continue to stand up for the people and the rule of law,” Wang said.
Trump’s directive also names prominent legal figures, including Marc Elias, a high-profile Democratic attorney who has worked on multiple election-related cases. Skye Perrymen, CEO of Democracy Forward, an organization where Elias serves as board chair, condemned the move as an effort to silence legal advocacy.
“The president’s increasing targeting of lawyers, the legal profession, and judges is in response to a number of instances where communities across the nation have had to go to federal court to protect their rights from this administration’s overreach and where judges nominated by both Republican and Democratic presidents and confirmed by the U.S. Senate have found that the Trump-Vance administration’s actions warrant scrutiny and, in many cases, are unlawful,” Perrymen stated.
The memo comes as the Trump administration faces over 100 legal challenges to its policies. Civil rights organizations and progressive legal groups have vowed not to be intimidated, arguing that such tactics threaten democracy itself.
Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, underscored the resolve of legal advocates. “We will not back down in the face of the president’s intimidation campaign—not while his administration refuses to defend women who are denied emergency abortion care; not while it condones violence at abortion clinics; and not while doctors are under threat of criminal prosecution for providing essential care. Not now and not ever,” she said.
Trump’s attack on the legal profession took a dramatic turn with his targeting of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, a law firm with a history of representing Democratic interests. Last week, Trump signed an executive order attempting to revoke security clearances for the firm’s lawyers, restrict their access to federal buildings, and terminate government contracts. The order reportedly led at least one client to sever ties with the firm.
In a stunning reversal, Paul, Weiss reached a deal with Trump’s administration, agreeing to provide $40 million in pro bono legal services in exchange for the order’s withdrawal. According to Trump, the firm pledged legal support for right-wing initiatives, including “assisting our nation’s veterans, fairness in the justice system, the president’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism, and other mutually agreed projects.”
The firm also agreed to conduct a “comprehensive audit of all of its employment practices,” a move widely seen as an abandonment of its longstanding diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Molly Coleman, executive director of the People’s Parity Project, sharply criticized the firm’s decision. “This is unbelievably shameful from Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP. I’m embarrassed to have any association with this firm that failed to find the courage the moment requires,” Coleman said.
Paul, Weiss had long been recognized as a leader in diversity efforts. “Paul, Weiss has been dedicated to diversity since the day the firm was created. Our founders—two lawyers who were, by tradition, not allowed to practice together because of their differing religions—decided to create a firm where diversity was the norm, not the exception,” said firm chairman Brad Karp in a 2015 statement.
The firm’s concession also included acknowledging the “wrongdoing” of former Paul, Weiss partner Mark Pomerantz, a key figure in past Trump investigations. This public repudiation of Pomerantz, who left the firm in 2012, was viewed as an alarming signal of political pressure on legal institutions.
Marc Elias condemned the agreement in blunt terms: “It is a sad day for the legal industry. Paul, Weiss didn’t just bend a knee, it set a new standard for shameful capitulation. This is a stain on the firm, every one of its partners, and the entire legal profession,” Elias wrote on Bluesky.
Trump’s aggressive targeting of law firms is part of a broader strategy to reshape the legal profession. Other firms, including Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie, have also faced executive orders limiting their ability to operate. Last week, a federal judge ruled that an order aimed at Perkins Coie was likely unconstitutional and issued a temporary restraining order blocking its enforcement.
Meanwhile, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) under Trump has launched investigations into law firms’ hiring practices, part of a larger conservative push to dismantle DEI initiatives under the guise of preventing “discrimination.”
“We look forward to an engaged and constructive relationship with the President and his Administration,” Karp said in a statement.
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