Trump administration drops, then renews appeal
Case involves executive orders against law firms
By: Aysha Bagchi
USA Today
..... The Trump administration is renewing its appeal against court rulings that deemed several of its executive actions targeting major law firms unconstitutional-just a day after dropping the effort.
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On March 2, [2026] the Justice Department requested a federal appeals court in Washington , DC, to dismiss its appeal. the filing didn't provide a reason.
..... Then, on March 3, [2026] DOJ asked to withdraw its request to dismiss, say8ing it is the department's "prerogative" to change its mind, even if the law firms don't support the move.
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The about-face happened after four federal judges, appointed by both democratic and Republican presidents, concluded the executive orders were unconstitutional.
..... Those
orders threatened to terminate federal contracts with several firms and their clients, strip certain lawyers of security clearance and restrict lawyer access to federal buildings.
..... Much of the legal community reacted with outrage, with oversight groups worrying that a wide segment of the profession could be bullied into representing only clients and causes approved by the White House.
..... The executive orders targeted several major firms, including Perkins Cole, which represented former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign; Jenner & Block LLP, which previously previously a lawyer who aided Robert Mueller's investigation of pro-Trump Russian election interference; and WilmerHale, which had hired Mueller himself.
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Those firms,as well as Susman Godfrey LLP, sued to challenge the Trump administration's actions. But none other firms instead made deals to avoid in the administration's wrath. Those deals included promises to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in free legal work to projects supported by both the firms and Trump.
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In a widely reported email o his firm on why he made a deal. Brad Karp, who was hen chair of Paul. Weiss Bifkind. Wharton & Garrison LLP, said it "was very likely" the firm couldn't survive a protracted fight with the administration.
..... "We initially prepared to challenge the executive order in court,' Karp said in the email. "But it became clear that, even if we were successful in initially enjoining the executive order in litigation, it would not solve the fundamental problem, which was that clients perceived our firm as being persona non grata with the administration."
..... In a statement to USA Today March 3, [2026] Perkins Coie said the execute orders are unconstitutional and it will continue its fight.
..... The Justice Department "offered no explanation to either the parities or the court for its reversal. We remain committed to defending our firm, our people , and our clients," the firms said.
..... DOJ had faced a deadline of March 6 [2026] to file its opening court papers in the appeals. The court has not yet set a date to hear the cases.
..... Contributing: Reuters