Attorney General Kathy Jennings has spearheaded a group of state attorneys general to draft an open letter to the legal community. The letter supports law firms that have resisted President Trump's measures targeting them for advocacy activities that the Trump Administration disfavors. The coalition expressed disappointment over several major law firms conceding in the face of what it described as dangerous attacks on legal principles.
The initiative comes as President Trump issued executive orders considered unconstitutional by the coalition, which target several law firms. Some large law firms have supposedly agreed to provide free legal services to support the Trump Administration’s priorities.
AG Jennings remarked, “Lawyers dedicate their lives to the study and defense of the Constitution and the rule of law. It should be clear to all of us that the Trump Administration’s actions are flatly unconstitutional and an insult to our oaths, to the law, and to the country. There is a reason that lawyers and journalists are the only private occupations named in the Constitution; it is the very reason those professions are now being attacked. We cannot afford to capitulate to injustice. We must stand firm and defend our democracy.”
According to the coalition, Trump’s executive orders allegedly violate the Constitution by retaliating against lawyers on the basis of their speech and association and discriminating based on viewpoint. The orders, they state, are inconsistent with the right to effective counsel and undermine basic principles of due process and the rule of law.
The coalition acknowledged the efforts of four firms—Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey—that have pursued legal action against Trump’s administration and temporarily blocked the orders.
The letter calls for further support from other legal entities to join these efforts. It encourages law firms and legal professionals to stand against the path chosen by firms that have apparently capitulated to the administration's pressure.
The initiative is led by AG Jennings and attorneys general from New Jersey, Colorado, and Illinois. Other signatories include attorneys general from Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.