“Lawyers cannot fulfill their duty to clients if they’re threatened with punishment for protected speech,” said Jenner & Block in its motion for summary judgment.
WilmerHale added, “The government cannot lawfully retaliate against lawyers for their viewpoints or associations.”
The Trump administration has moved to dismiss both cases, claiming the executive orders are “straightforwardly legal.” However, Judges John D. Bates and Richard J. Leon previously blocked parts of the orders, including provisions relating to security clearances.
Joining the state AGs, a group of distinguished legal ethics professors submitted their own briefs, warning that these orders threaten the self-regulating integrity of the legal profession and could lead to ethical violations or even potential bribery concerns.
“If law firms must appease the president to survive, their lawyers’ independent judgment and client loyalty are compromised,” the professors wrote. “Unchecked, these actions chip away at the rule of law.”
The professors include George M. Cohen (University of Virginia), Susan P. Koniak (Boston University), Jonah E. Perlin and Mitt Regan (Georgetown), and W. Bradley Wendel (Cornell).
