As big law firms bend the knee to President Donald Trump, another target of his executive orders is fighting back.
On Friday, Susman Godfrey—which won a successful $787 million lawsuit against Fox News over the network’s airing of 2020 election conspiracies—filed a suit against a Trump executive order it says was meant to “exact revenge.”
“No administration should be allowed to punish lawyers for simply doing their jobs, protecting Americans and their constitutional right to the legal process,” Susman Godfrey said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order barring Susman Godfrey from federal contracts held by the firm’s clients, removed its employees’ security clearances, and banned them from accessing federal buildings.
The firm’s complaint said that Trump’s order made “no secret of its unconstitutional retaliatory and discriminatory intent to punish Susman Godfrey for its work defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election.”
“But this goes far beyond law firms and lawyers,” Susman Godfrey said. “Today it is our firm under attack, but tomorrow it could be any of us. As officers of the court, we are duty-bound to take on this fight against the illegal executive order.”
Susman Godfrey is represented by Donald Verrilli, former solicitor general during the Obama administration.
His firm, Munger Tolles & Olson, has been a staunch critic of Trump’s executive orders, filing amicus briefs on behalf of hundreds of law firms.
Second Lady Usha Vance was also previously employed at Munger Tolles & Olson as a trial lawyer before stepping down last year once JD Vance became Trump’s pick for Vice President.
Susman Godfrey has been on Trump’s radar after representing Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation suit against Fox News last year, which claimed that the news network falsely accused it of sabotaging Trump’s 2020 election campaign.
Dominion presented the court with a substantial number of emails and messages that proved that Fox News executives and hosts knew their accusations against the company were untrue but continued to spread lies on the air.
Fox Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch also admitted during a deposition that he didn’t think the election was stolen from Trump and knew that Joe Biden had fairly won, putting his news network in an embarrassing position.
Since returning to office, Trump has been on a vindictive crusade against law firms that have challenged him or his administration in any shape or form, signing one executive order after another penalizing firms that employed his enemies or engaged in work he opposes.
Four firms, including the two largest firms in the country, Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins, cut a deal to avoid falling victim to one of Trump’s executive orders Friday, agreeing to conduct a total of at least $500 million in pro bono work for the administration.
The firms also pledged to scrap their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and recruit job candidates regardless of political beliefs, including those “who have served in the Trump Administration.” Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft signed a similar deal Friday.
The president’s revenge spree has forced law firms to choose between succumbing to his demands or taking a stand and striking back.
Susman Godfrey joined the handful of firms that have taken action against the president, which includes Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale, calling the president’s spree of executive orders “so obviously unconstitutional.”
Perkins Coie—which Trump targeted for providing legal support to the Democratic National Committee (DNC)—was the first to fight back against the administration, claiming that the executive order against it was unconstitutional and full of “retaliatory animus.”
Its actions received wide support across the law community, with 500 firms signing an April 4 court brief filed by Munger Tolles & Olson.