Trump Administration Abandons Efforts to Impose Orders on Law Firms; The New York Times, March 2, 2026

Jonah E. Bromwich and Michael S. Schmidt, The New York Times; Trump Administration Abandons Efforts to Impose Orders on Law Firms

The move amounts to a surrender in a clash that has led many law firms to submit to the president rather than face the threat of his executive orders

"The Trump administration on Monday abandoned its attempts to impose potentially crippling executive orders against law firms that refused to capitulate to the president, walking away from its appeal of victories the firms had won against the White House.

With a brief due this week, Justice Department lawyers told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia that they were no longer interested in pursuing the cases and were voluntarily asking the court to dismiss them.

The decision is the White House’s most significant acknowledgment that the executive orders cannot be successfully defended in court. The move is particularly striking given that some firms opted to reach deals in a bid to head off executive orders that President Trump’s Justice Department said it would no longer stand behind.

The battle over the executive orders had roiled the legal establishment and led many firms to submit to Mr. Trump rather than face the existential threat his directives represented. The orders barred the firms from government business and suggested that their clients could lose government contracts, spurring widespread panic in the legal profession."

Trump presidential orders target law firms. Here's how some lawyers say that threatens the rule of law.; CBS News, May 4, 2025

Scott Pelley, CBS News; Trump presidential orders target law firms. Here's how some lawyers say that threatens the rule of law.

[Kip Currier: The Trump Executive Orders against select law firms violate the spirit and substance of foundational democratic beliefs and rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. 

The right to legal counsel is a fundamental precept of America's justice system and democracy.  Trump's Executive Orders imperil the right to legal counsel.

It is a conservative principle that finds its roots in the rebellion of the Thirteen Original Colonies against the human rights-starved tyranny of colonial England under King George III (1760-1820).

It is a tenet that has set the U.S. apart from authoritarian regimes.

The right to legal counsel is in jeopardy under the current administration.

The courageous, democratically-principled lawyers, law firms, judges, and legal organizations that are standing up and speaking out against these baseless unconstitutional actions deserve our admiration, support, and gratitude.]

[Excerpt]

"It was nearly impossible to get anyone on camera for this story because of the fear now running through our system of justice. In recent weeks, President Trump has signed orders against several law firms — orders with the power to destroy them. That matters because lawsuits have been a check on the president's power. Many firms and attorneys have been targeted, among them Marc Elias, a long time opponent of Trump who is the only lawyer the president has named who was willing to appear on 60 Minutes. Elias, and others, are warning that Trump's assault on the legal profession threatens the rule of law itself. Elias says that for him, it began with the president's personal grudge...

In a shock to the legal community, nine major firms went to the White House to make a deal. Some say they were pressured, not by a written order, but by a message from the White House threatening an order...

Marc Elias: It is trying to intimidate them the way in which a mob boss intimidates people in the neighborhood that he is seeking to either exact protection money from or engage in other nefarious conduct. I mean, the fact is that these law firms are being told, "If you don't play ball with us, maybe somethin' really bad will happen to you." 

The nine firms did not admit wrongdoing but, altogether, they agreed to give nearly $1 billion in legal services to causes that the firms and Trump support. 

Donald Ayer: Our whole system of government is at stake.

Attorney Donald Ayer should know. He argued before the Supreme Court for the Reagan administration. He was deputy attorney general for George H. W. Bush. Today, he teaches at Georgetown Law...

Four firms are standing up and fighting in court. Judges protected them with temporary restraining orders. Law professor Donald Ayer says, in his view, Trump's orders violate the constitutional rights to free speech, due process and the right to counsel."