by
Chip
Somodevilla/Getty
Images)
The
Trump
administration
is
openly
targeting
Biglaw
firms
for
their
representation
of
clients
and
causes
adverse
to
the
president’s
political
agenda.
Five
top
firms
— Covington
&
Burling, Perkins
Coie, Paul
Weiss,
Jenner
&
Block,
and
WilmerHale —
have
found
themselves
on
the
receiving
end
of
Trump’s
retaliatory
executive
orders.
On
top
of
these
(likely
unconstitutional)
executive
actions,
Trump
has sicced
the
EEOC on
20
Biglaw
firms
over
their
DEI
policies,
with
the
agency
launching
full-scale
investigations
into
their
alleged
“unlawful”
employment
practices.
Outside
support
for
these
law
firms
has
come
from more
than
50
bar
associations,
nearly
80
law
school
deans,
and
now
more
than
3,000
lawyers
and
legal
organizations
from
both
sides
of
the
political
spectrum
have
sent
a
letter
to
Attorney
General
Pam
Bondi,
pleading
with
America’s
top
government
lawyer
to
step
in
and
defend
the
rule
of
law
by
opposing
not
just
attacks
on
these
law
firms,
but
on
judges
as
well.
The
letter,
which
was
put
together
by
the
Society
for
the
Rule
of
Law
Institute
and
Democracy
Forward,
urges
Bondi
to
live
up
to
what
she
promised
to
do
during
her
confirmation
hearings
and
refuse
to
back
“partisan
weaponization”
of
the
Justice
Department.
Here’s
an
excerpt
from
the
letter:
It
is
your
responsibility,
as
the
lawyer
ultimately
entrusted
with
the
representation
of
the
United
States
in
legal
matters,
to
oppose
attacks
on
the
legal
profession,
on
judges,
and
on
the
rule
of
law
and
to
ensure
that
the
Department
of
Justice
uses
its
full
power
to
protect
the
legal
profession
and
equal
justice
under
law
for
all
people.
…It
is
incumbent
on
you
to
use
all
of
the
tools
available
to
you
to
preserve
and
protect
the
independence
and
integrity
of
the
legal
profession,
including
opposing
the
use
of
the
federal
government
to
attack
lawyers,
law
firms,
and
legal
organizations
for
engaging
in
good
faith
representation
of
their
clients.
Reuters
has
additional
details
on
some
of
the
lawyers
who
signed
the
letter:
Republican
signatories
included
J.
Michael
Luttig,
a
former
U.S.
appeals
court
judge;
former
U.S.
Representative
Barbara
Comstock,
a
senior
advisor
at
Baker
Donelson;
Peter
Keisler,
a
former
acting
U.S.
attorney
general
under
President
George
W.
Bush;
and
Donald
Ayer,
a
former
top
Justice
Department
lawyer
under
President
George
H.W.
Bush.Democrats
who
signed
the
letter
included
Marc
Elias,
a
longtime
lawyer
for
Democratic
politicians
whom Trump
has
criticized,
and
Norm
Eisen,
whose
group
the
State
Democracy
Defenders
Action
is
suing
the
Trump
administration
in
several
cases.
If
you
agree
that
Attorney
General
Pam
Bondi
should
do
her
job
properly
by
standing
up
for
the
legal
profession
and
the
rule
of
law,
please
click
here
to
add
your
name
to
the
list
of
signatories.
US
conservative,
Democratic
lawyers
urge
Bondi
to
defend
lawyers
and
firms
[Reuters]
Staci
Zaretsky is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
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to
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