A pair of federal judges have paused portions of President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting Jenner & Block and WilmerHale in their respective cases against the Trump administration.
Jenner & Block and WilmerHale had employees linked to the Mueller investigation, which provoked Trump in part to punish them.
Judge John Bates is halting portions of the order instructing agencies to terminate contracts with the firm and its clients along with Trump’s attempt to limit the firm’s access to federal buildings.
Jenner & Block is among several law firms that the Trump administration has targeted with executive orders including WilmerHale, the Skadden law firm, and Paul Weiss among others. Some have made deals with the Trump administration to provide millions in pro bono work while others like Jenner & Block and WilmerHale have retaliated with lawsuits.
WilmerHale, who also took part in the Mueller investigation, had a hearing at the same time as Jenner & Block.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said he was “inclined” to block parts of the Trump executive order targeting them as well. He later also ruled to grant a restraining order on portions of the order targeting WilmerHale.
“We appreciate the court’s swift action to preserve our clients’ right to counsel and acknowledgement of the unconstitutional nature of the executive order and its chilling effect on the legal system,” a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement obtained by the Washington Examiner. “The court’s decision to block key provisions of the order vindicates our and our clients’ foundational First Amendment rights.”
Leon said in his decision that firms’ “very survival” would be at stake. “While economic loss does not always warrant a TRO, this is not a typical situation. This plaintiff faces more than economic harm – it faces crippling losses, and its very survival is at stake,” he said.
The judge lamented the order’s likely effect on the law firm earlier in the day.
“Wouldn’t that uncertainty have a chilling effect?” Leon said of the executive order, which he said would chill WilmerHale’s work. He said the order was “like a sword of Damocles hanging over (the firm’s) head.”
The judge appeared concerned about the executive order’s directive to bar WilmerHale from federal buildings. “This is a government building. The Supreme Court is a government building,” Leon pointed out.
Leon then told Justice Department attorney Richard Lawson, who said he couldn’t speak to whether clients of the law firm should worry about whether their lawyers could enter the courthouse, to use his “common sense.”
TRACKING WHAT DOGE IS DOING ACROSS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Former President George W. Bush appointed Leon to his position, and he could now enforce a similar verdict as the Jenner & Block case, further curtailing Trump’s power over the firms.
A different judge had already blocked the Trump executive order from targeting law firm Perkins Coie earlier this month.
