Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and other attorneys general have signed an open letter addressed to the legal community. The letter supports law firms resisting alleged unconstitutional actions by President Trump against certain legal practices. It criticizes major law firms for submitting to these actions.
"Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined an open letter to the legal community that expresses support for law firms that have fought back against President Trump’s unconstitutional attempts to target law firms for advocacy the Trump Administration disfavors," the press release stated. "The letter expresses the coalition’s profound disappointment that several of the country’s largest law firms have capitulated in the face of these dangerous attacks on the rule of law."
The letter addresses President Trump's executive orders that allegedly penalize law firms for their advocacy and compel some firms to offer free legal support to align with Trump Administration priorities.
"What we have seen from Donald Trump and his administration is a total disregard for the separations of power and the rule of law," Nessel said. "The legal profession cannot be complicit in this attack on our democracy. I am proud to stand with my colleagues, law firms, and fellow attorneys in defense of the Constitution against these unconstitutional threats, and I have no doubt that history will prove us right for standing up to these abuses of power."
It alleges that Trump's executive orders breach constitutional rights, infringe on lawyers' freedom of speech and association, and threaten the rule of law.
The coalition noted that four firms — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey — have taken legal action against these orders and secured temporary court orders blocking them.
The letter appeals to the broader legal community to follow the example set by these firms. It urges rejecting the actions of firms that have complied with the Trump Administration and calls for a united front to maintain legal system integrity.
Alongside Nessel, the letter was endorsed by attorneys general from several states, including Arizona, California, and New York, among others.