Law Firms
US will appeal decision finding punitive executive order against Jenner & Block violates First Amendment
A view of the Jenner & Block law firm at 353 N. Clark St. in Chicago on May 23, 2025. (Photo by Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The federal government on Monday filed notice that it will appeal a federal judge’s decision blocking a punitive executive order against Jenner & Block that threatened its employees’ security clearances and put its clients’ government contracts at risk.
The notice follows the government’s decision to appeal a June 30 decision blocking a similar executive order against Perkins Coie. Both decisions said the executive orders violate the First Amendment partly because they target law firms for their legal work.
Law.com, Law360, Bloomberg Law and Reuters are among the publications covering the appeal.
Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie are among four firms that have obtained permanent injunctions blocking the punitive executive orders. Nine other firms reached pro bono deals with President Donald Trump to avoid such orders.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates of the District of Columbia ruled for Jenner & Block in a May 23 opinion that said the executive order “raises constitutional eyebrows many times over.”
“Most obviously, retaliating against firms for the views embodied in their legal work—and thereby seeking to muzzle them going forward—violates the First Amendment’s central command that government may not ‘use the power of the state to punish or suppress disfavored expression,’” Bates said.
Trump’s order referred to Jenner & Block’s successful representation of transgender people and asylum-seekers, as well as its rehiring of a prosecutor who worked on former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. The prosecutor left the firm in 2021.
Jenner & Block issued a statement to the publications covering the appeal.
“The district court correctly declared that Jenner’s clients have a right to independent counsel, and that the firm’s right to represent clients vigorously and without compromise is sacred,” the spokesperson said. “We look forward to confirming this on appeal. We will continue doing what we do best: fearlessly representing our clients under all circumstances.”
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