Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Order Against Susman Godfrey

By Mike Scarcella, David Thomas

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A federal judge has blocked most of Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the law firm Susman Godfrey. The judge criticized the legal industry’s capitulation to Trump’s coercive tactics.

U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan issued a temporary restraining order against provisions of Trump’s directive, which threatened to cancel federal contracts for Susman Godfrey’s clients and restricted the firm’s lawyers’ access to government buildings.

> “The government is purely trying to control what private lawyers may do, which I do not think will withstand constitutional scrutiny,” the judge stated during a hearing.

Susman Godfrey filed a lawsuit Friday, claiming Trump’s order violated its First Amendment rights, due process, and other constitutional protections.

Since February, nine firms, including Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps, have made deals with the White House amid Trump’s campaign against unwelcome law firms, while four firms have filed lawsuits opposing him.

The judge remarked that many law firms have settled due to fear of retaliation, describing Trump’s directives as coercive and expressing admiration for Susman Godfrey’s courage in opposing it.

> “For the many firms that have entered into agreements with the administration, there’s nothing stopping the government from returning to target them in the future,” AliKhan added.

Susman Godfrey argued that the executive order retaliated against it for defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election, where it represented Dominion Voting Systems against claims of electoral fraud.

> “The executive order specifically targets lawyers because of the clients they represented,” the judge commented, labeling Trump’s actions as a personal vendetta and an abuse of power.

A White House spokesperson did not comment on the ruling but stated, “American taxpayers should not fund lucrative contracts with law firms whose actions harm national interests.”

The firm welcomed the court’s recognition of the order’s unconstitutionality and abuse of power. Previous judges have blocked key aspects of Trump’s orders against other firms, indicating that their lawsuits would likely succeed.

Trump has accused law firms of weaponizing the legal system and targeting his adversaries, while his orders also challenged the firms’ diversity employment policies, which he deemed discriminatory.

Firms settling with Trump pledged substantial sums in free legal work for his supported causes and agreed to merit-based hiring practices.

Donald Verrilli, representing Susman Godfrey, labeled Trump’s order as a blatantly unconstitutional exercise of executive power, stressing the urgent need to halt such orders.

Over 800 law firms backed the legal challenges against Trump’s orders, asserting they aimed to intimidate every firm into submission.

Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson told the court that the order against Susman Godfrey was only the beginning of a process, urging the judge to allow implementation guidance first, stating, “This is not a fine. This is not jail time.”