US federal judge freezes executive order penalizing law firm Susman Godfrey – JURIST

A federal judge on Tuesday granted a motion that placed a temporary restraining order on President Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Susman Godfrey, halting the administration’s efforts to block the federal government from doing business with the firm.

The court order came one day after Susman Godfrey filed to enjoin the executive action. In their 160-page motion, the firm argued that Trump and his administration violated the First Amendment, as well as fundamental constitutional principles in issuing the executive order:

In recent weeks, the President has issued a series of executive orders… targeting law firms for representing clients and causes that the President disfavors. Those activities are…protected by bedrock constitutional principles, including the First Amendment, which protects the right of attorneys to advocate for clients, petition the courts, and associate with clients of their choosing… [The] overall design of our Constitution [was] adopted… to ensure that presidents cannot exercise arbitrary, absolute power in the way that the President seeks to do in these executive orders.

Ruling US District Judge Loren AliKhan is said to have called the executive order a “shocking abuse of power” motivated by Trump’s “personal vendetta” against the firm. AliKhan was also quoted saying that she admired “Susman for standing up and challenging” the president and expressed concern about other firms “capitulating” to the administration’s show of authority.

Trump issued his executive order targeting the firm last week as part of the administration’s latest efforts to crackdown on multiple major law firms, including Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, and Jenner & Block. These orders have generally sought to block the firms from associating or working with the federal government. On Susman, in its order, the administration argued the firm “spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system” and “degrades the quality of American elections.” 

In March, Trump pressured law firm Paul Weiss to abandon its DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) policies by threatening a similar block on business. The firm agreed and Trump ultimately rescinded the order. Many commenters have decried the firm’s action, fearing it may lead to continued submission to the administration’s coercive behavior.

Susman Godfrey represented Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit against Fox News in 2021. The case related to repeated claims made by Fox that Dominion was part of a fraudulent conspiracy to put former president Joe Biden in the White House. The suit ultimately resulted in a $787.5 million settlement for Dominion.