By Mike Scarcella(Reuters) – In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s swift executive actions, a coalition of the country’s top corporate law firms has come together to represent plaintiffs challenging his policies. Over the past two weeks, at least eight leading firms, including WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and Arnold & Porter, have signed on to lead the legal fight. These firms have a history of contesting Trump’s policies, such as immigration restrictions targeting Muslim-majority countries during his first term.
They are once again teaming up with liberal advocacy groups and other challengers to challenge the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on illegal immigration, transgender rights, firings of officials, and budget cuts to health research and foreign aid. The involvement of private law firms in these cases has drawn criticism from Trump’s ally, Elon Musk, who questioned the firms behind the anti-Trump lawsuits on social media.
WilmerHale, one of the firms representing inspectors general fired by Trump, has also represented Musk’s Tesla in the past. While some firms declined to comment on their involvement in the cases or Musk’s remarks, legal experts emphasize that ethics rules allow law firms to take on pro bono cases even if some clients may not fully agree with the legal actions being pursued.
In the current polarized political climate, the attention brought by high-profile cases in the Trump era underscores the risks involved for law firms. Despite political differences among clients and law firms, firms often engage in pro bono work on public policy issues that require extensive legal resources. The political contributions of law firm PACs in the 2023-2024 U.S. election cycle also reflect a divided landscape, with donations going to both Democratic and Republican candidates.
As Trump continues to implement controversial policies, legal challenges from advocacy groups, state attorneys general, and other entities are mounting through a series of lawsuits.
Challenging the administration’s moves are eight large firms, each employing hundreds of lawyers, appearing in 11 of those cases. Additionally, some smaller law firms are also actively involved in cases against the administration. Notable scenarios include Arnold & Porter partnering with advocacy groups to sue over Trump’s attempt to end automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, while Perkins Coie is representing plaintiffs in lawsuits regarding Trump’s restrictions on transgender military service. Jenner & Block is also engaged in litigation concerning transgender rights and is suing to reverse research funding cuts.
Interestingly, approximately two dozen of the largest U.S. law firms that were active in lawsuits during Trump’s first term have yet to surface in new cases. Christopher Clark, a lawyer with Lambda Legal overseeing its pro bono work with law firms, predicts that the gay and transgender advocacy group will necessitate more firms’ participation as litigation against the administration broadens.
“Based on what we’ve seen so far, we’re going to be very, very busy,” Clark highlighted.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by David Bario, Amy Stevens and Alistair Bell)
