Chicago – May 03, 2025
A federal judge on Friday struck down President Trump’s executive order targeting the prominent law firm of Perkins Coie, finding it unconstitutional and declaring it an attack on the foundational principles of the American legal system.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell is the first to permanently block an executive order issued by Trump punishing a law firm for representing clients or causes that he dislikes.
“No American President has ever before issued executive orders like the one at issue in this lawsuit targeting a prominent law firm with adverse actions to be executed by all Executive branch agencies,” Howell wrote in her 102-page ruling.
“But, in purpose and effect, this action draws from a playbook as old as Shakespeare, who penned the phrase: ‘The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.'”
Perkins Coie was the first law firm targeted with a sweeping executive order that imposed potentially existential punitive measures on it. Trump’s order suspended security clearances for the firm’s employees, barred its attorneys from access to government buildings and officials, and ended government contracts with the firm.
Trump has issued similar executive orders against several other prominent law firms that he views as political enemies. Three of those firms, in addition to Perkins Coie, have sued to challenge Trump’s actions, and won court orders temporarily blocking enforcement of the orders.
