Law Firms
2 firms speak out after Trump seeks lawyer sanctions for ‘unreasonable and vexatious’ suits against US
President Donald Trump speaks at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on March 14. (Pool photo by the Associated Press)
Two law firms have issued statements criticizing President Donald Trump after he issued a memo late Friday calling for sanctions, ethics referrals and reassessment of security clearances against lawyers and firms that engage in “frivolous, unreasonable and vexatious litigation” against the United States.
The two firms taking a stand are litigation boutiques Selendy Gay and Keker, Van Nest & Peters, Bloomberg Law reports. BigLaw firms, on the other hand, “have been quiet” since Trump issued executive orders revoking security clearances for three large firms because of their client representations, the article says.
One of the three targeted firms—Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison—has since reached an agreement with Trump that lifts the sanctions that he had imposed. The other two targeted firms are Perkins Coie, which has filed suit, and Covington & Burling.
Selendy Gay said it supports “Perkins Coie, Covington and the American Bar Association in their courageous defense of the rule of law.” The statement said Selendy Gay “rejects the notion that the government can punish lawyers for their choice of clients or threaten judges for presiding over cases adverse to the administration.”
The Keker Van Nest statement said an attack on lawyers who “represent unpopular people and causes, including in matters adverse to the federal government” is “inexcusable and despicable.” The statement also encouraged firm leaders to sign an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie in its challenge to the executive order.
Trump’s latest memo targeting firms, which is dated March 22, cited the ability of the federal government to seek sanctions under Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, agency regulations governing attorney conduct and state attorney ethics rules.
Far too many lawyers have ignored Rule 11’s ban on frivolous litigation “when litigating against the federal government or in pursuing baseless partisan attacks,” and Attorney General Pam Bondi should seek sanctions in such situations, according to the memo.
Bondi should also seek referrals to ethics regulators for conduct that appears to violate professional conduct rules, “including rules governing meritorious claims and contentions and particularly in cases that implicate national security, homeland security, public safety or election integrity,” the memo said.
In complying with the directive on ethics referrals, the memo said, Bondi “shall consider the ethical duties that law partners have when supervising junior attorneys, including imputing the ethical misconduct of junior attorneys to partners or the law firm when appropriate.”
The memo also directed Bondi to recommend additional steps, including reassessment of security clearances, for sanctionable or unethical litigation conduct in present litigation, or in litigation against the United States over the last eight years.
The memo said the immigration system is “replete with examples of unscrupulous behavior by attorneys and law firms.” Citing an example, the memo said “the immigration bar and powerful BigLaw pro bono practices frequently coach clients to conceal their past or lie about their circumstances when asserting their asylum claims, all in an attempt to circumvent immigration policies enacted to protect our national security.”
Another example cited in the memo was alleged “grossly unethical misconduct” by former Perkins Coie lawyer Marc Elias, now chair of the Elias Law Group, who hired the firm that compiled a “false ‘dossier’” with unsubstantiated allegations about Trump’s alleged connections. The allegations led to an FBI investigation.
The memo alleges that Elias “intentionally sought to conceal the role of his client—failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton—in the dossier.”
Publications covering Trump’s latest memo include the New York Times, the Washington Post, Law360 and Reuters.
Legal advocacy groups and at least 12 major firms have been involved in many of the 100-pluis lawsuits challenging executive actions, according to Reuters.
Selendy Gay is challenging the administration’s rejection of job protections for career government employees, according to Bloomberg Law. Keker Van Nest is involved in six ongoing suits against the Trump administration, the publication reports.
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