Follows flurry of executive orders
The American Bar Association (ABA) has taken legal action against Donald Trump and his administration, accusing the US president of “relentless attacks” and an “unlawful” campaign of intimidation against law firms using punitive executive orders. The ABA has filed a case in Washington, DC, asking a federal court to declare Trump’s actions “unconstitutional”.
The 400,000-strong lawyers’ group accuses Trump of abusing executive powers to punish firms based on past client lists or internal equality policies. Often this means blocking firms from federal contracts and buildings.
Some firms have made deals with Trump to reverse the sanctions, offering pro bono services valued at over £700 million in total. Meanwhile, other firms have challenged the orders, many of which have already been struck down by the courts.
Yet, the ABA claims Trump’s actions do deeper damage. A “pervasive fear” is chilling the profession, according to the ABA, a fear it likens to a “blizzard” — with lawyers now wary of challenging the government at all. Their case seeks broader protection for legal professionals across the country, warning of a sustained threat to the independence of the bar.
It is now asking a federal court to “declare unconstitutional the Trump administration’s ongoing unlawful policy of intimidation against lawyers and law firms and to enjoin the government from enforcing the policy”. The aim, the ABA says, is to protect all its lawyer members facing an “unprecedented challenge”.
The ABA added “many attorneys are no longer willing to take on representations that would require suing the federal government because doing so poses a serious risk of becoming the next target of the administration’s devastating sanctions”/
William R Bay, president of the ABA, said:
“This is the time to stand up, speak out and seek relief from our courts… There has never been a more urgent time for the ABA to defend its members, our profession and the rule of law itself.”
In the filing the frosty metaphor continues, with the ABA quoting Professor Scott Cummings, who argued Trump’s actions “had a deliberately powerful chilling effect”. The ABA noted it is also experiencing these effects, as it has “had to forgo litigation against the Administration because counsel who previously were willing to take on such work are no longer willing to do so”.
Meanwhile, the German Bar Association (Deutscher Anwaltverein) has published a position paper suggesting that US firms which struck deals with Trump to avoid executive order sanctions could face disciplinary action and may lose the right to operate in Germany. The paper states that any agreement where legal professionals “relinquish their independence from the government” is likely to be unlawful under German law.
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