Pro Bono
‘Small and mighty in numbers,’ solo and small firm lawyers help challenge Trump administration agenda
Some BigLaw firms are reluctant to oppose administration policies after President Donald Trump pursued disfavored law firms with punitive executive orders. But others outside BigLaw are willing to litigate. (Image from Shutterstock)
Updated: Some BigLaw firms are reluctant to oppose administration policies after President Donald Trump pursued disfavored law firms with punitive executive orders. But others outside BigLaw are willing to litigate, the New York Times reports.
“An army of solo practitioners, former government litigators and small law firms stepped up to volunteer their time to challenge the administration’s agenda,” the article says.
Some lawyers are volunteering to help through the Pro Bono Litigation Corps, a new group launched by the legal nonprofit Lawyers for Good Government.
The Pro Bono Litigation Corps “is a new, relatively small entrant in the battle against portions of the Trump agenda,” the article reports.
Other larger groups involved in litigation include Democracy Forward, the Democracy Defenders Fund, Protect Democracy, Public Citizen and the American Civil Liberties Union.
One volunteer with the Pro Bono Litigation Corps is Morristown, New Jersey, solo practitioner Michael H. Ansell, who handles small business disputes. He helped interview plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit contesting the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to end its Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants program.
“We’re the last line of defense, it seems,” he told the New York Times.
Heidi Burakiewicz, whose labor boutique handles federal sector cases, is helping Norman Eisen, who founded the Democracy Defenders Fund.
“I have three daughters,” she told the New York Times. “When this is all said and done, I need to look them in the face and know I did everything I could.”
Eisen is collaborating with Abbe Lowell, who left Winston & Strawn to defend people targeted by the Trump administration, according to a May story by Reuters.
Also willing to help is Karen C. Burgess, a commercial litigator with a firm in Austin, Texas. She told her undergraduate alma mater Rice University that she was willing to help if there is a federal court case over the administration’s investigation of diversity initiatives at Rice University, one of four dozen universities facing such inquiries.
Burgess said only a fraction of the 1.3 million lawyers in the United States work for large firms.
“We’re small and mighty in numbers and willing to cause discomfort if necessary,” she told the New York Times.
Updated July 23 at 4:30 p.m. to report that the Pro Bono Litigation Corps is a new group.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
