The California firm where JD Vance’s wife, Usha, had worked as an attorney before Trump chose him as his running mate last July, has filed a brief on behalf of 500 firms, blasting the president’s attempts to punish law firms that oppose him.
John Bazemore/Associated Press
The court battle against President Donald Trump’s attempts to punish law firms that oppose him was joined Friday by the California firm where JD Vance’s wife, Usha, had worked as an attorney before Trump chose him as his running mate last July.
The president’s actions “pose a grave threat to our system of constitutional governance and to the rule of law,” the firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson said in a filing in federal court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of more than 500 law firms.
It was filed in support of Perkins Coie, the first of at least a half dozen firms hit with penalties by Trump for their legal representation of candidates and causes he opposes.
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Perkins Coie represented former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump’s Democratic opponent in 2016. Trump has ordered revocation of security clearances for the firms’ employees, cancellation of their government contracts and denial of access to federal buildings, including courthouses. A federal judge has blocked the orders against Perkins Coie, saying the government may not punish individuals or companies for their opinions.
The firms represented in Friday’s filing have “a wide range of political and ideological views,” Munger Tolles said. “For our system of justice to operate, members of the bar must be free to advocate zealously for all of their clients, large and small, rich and poor, without fear of retribution.”
The brief was signed by Donald Verrilli, an attorney with the firm who argued cases before the Supreme Court as solicitor general under President Barack Obama.
Usha Vance was a lawyer with Munger Tolles in Washington before resigning in July when her husband became the Republican vice presidential candidate. She said at the time that she needed to “focus on caring for our family,” with two children. The Los Angeles firm has offices in San Francisco and Washington.
Meanwhile, Doug Emhoff, the husband of former Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent last November, has reportedly criticized his law firm, Willkie Farr & Gallkagher, for deciding not to fight Trump’s sanctions and instead agreeing to a settlement that includes providing $100 million in free legal services. At least two other major firms, Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps, have reached similar agreements.
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In comments quoted by the New York Times, Emhoff told a Georgetown University Law School gathering Tuesday night that “the rule of law is under attack. Democracy is under attack. And so, all of us lawyers need to do what we can to push back on that.”
Few major law firms have joined the public campaign against Trump’s actions, possibly fearing retaliation. Among the many midsize firms that have spoken out is San Francisco-based Keker, Van Nest & Peters, which filed arguments in support of Perkins Coie and issued a statement last month saying the Trump administration is “far removed … from our nation’s Constitution and bedrock values.”
Another challenge came Wednesday from 363 law professors at law schools around the nation.
If Trump’s penalties against Perkins Coie are upheld, “it will be open season on lawyers who have dared to take on clients or causes the President or other officials don’t like,” the lawyers said in a filing signed by Phillip Malone, a Stanford law professor.
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“This is no hypothetical threat,” the filing said, quoting a posting by Trump on his Truth Social website last September: “WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law. …Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers.”
Reach Bob Egelko: [email protected]; X: @BobEgelko
