Pretty much from the moment Susman Godfrey was targeted by Donald Trump with an Executive Order designed to extract a financial penalty for not swearing fealty to Trump, the firm vowed to fight — for both themselves and for the rule of law. And fight they have. Yesterday the firm became the fourth in Biglaw to file a complaint against the administration over these EOs. (Complaint available in full below.)
Susman Godfrey is represented by former Solicitor General Don Verrilli, now of Munger, Tolles & Olson, and seeks to enjoin the enforcement of the EO and have it declared unconstitutional. The complaint reads, “The president is abusing the powers of his office to wield the might of the executive branch in retaliation against organizations and people that he dislikes. Nothing in our constitution or laws grants a president such power; to the contrary, the specific provisions and overall design of our constitution were adopted in large measure to ensure that presidents cannot exercise arbitrary, absolute power in the way that the president seeks to do in these executive orders.”
The filing alleges a cornucopia of violations of the First, Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the constitution. And it notes, “If President Trump’s executive orders are allowed to stand, future presidents will face no constraint when they seek to retaliate against a different set of perceived foes. What for two centuries has been beyond the pale will become the new normal.”
A firm spokesperson provided the following statement on the litigation, “The executive order targeting Susman Godfrey is unconstitutional and retaliatory. No administration should be allowed to punish lawyers for simply doing their jobs, protecting Americans and their constitutional right to the legal process. But this goes far beyond law firms and lawyers. Today it is our firm under attack, but tomorrow it could be any of us. As officers of the court, we are duty-bound to take on this fight against the illegal executive order.”
The other firms that have taken to the judicial system in the face of these EOs (Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale) have been met with early court victories. Plus they’ve been spared the infamy of being on the growing list of Biglaw firms that have bent a knee to Trump and allowed him to amass a ~$1 billion war chest of pro bono payola that Trump believes can be used for legal causes of his choosing, even beyond his presidency.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].