Latest news with #Susman
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Trump order against law firm Susman Godfrey faces court test
May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. law firm Susman Godfrey will ask a judge in Washington on Thursday to permanently bar President Donald Trump's executive order against it, calling the measure an act of retaliation that trampled its rights under the U.S. Constitution. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan will be the latest in a series of high-profile court clashes over the Republican president's orders targeting major law firms for their connections to his political adversaries or stances they have taken. Trump has been losing the legal battle so far, after judges put his orders against four firms on hold and struck down one of them entirely on May 2. AliKhan is set to hear arguments in Susman Godfrey's case at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The Houston-based firm sued the administration last month, asserting Trump's executive order violated constitutional protections for free speech and due process. Trump issued orders against Susman and three other firms — Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale — that suspended their lawyers' security clearances, restricted their access to government officials and sought to cancel federal contracts held by their client. Susman Godfrey in its lawsuit said Trump's order was retaliation for its defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election that Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden. The firm represents election technology supplier Dominion Voting Systems in cases that challenged false claims the election was stolen from Trump through widespread voting fraud. The U.S. Justice Department has defended Trump's orders as lawful exercises of presidential authority and urged judges to uphold them. Nine prominent law firms, including Paul Weiss, Skadden Arps, Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis, have settled with the White House to avoid similar actions against them by the administration. Those firms cumulatively pledged nearly $1 billion in free legal services and made other concessions in their deals with Trump. They have defended agreements as being aligned with their principles. At an earlier hearing in the Susman Godfrey case, AliKhan lamented the settling firms were "capitulating" to the Trump White House.
Reuters
25-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Law firm partners back Susman Godfrey in lawsuit over Trump executive order
April 25 (Reuters) - An association of more than 700 partners at major U.S. law firms submitted a court brief on Friday supporting Susman Godfrey in its federal lawsuit challenging U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order against the firm. Trump's punitive orders targeting Susman and other law firms "threaten the legal profession, the judiciary, and the rule of law itself," the filing said. The friend-of-the-court brief, filed in Susman's case in Washington, D.C., by the non-profit Law Firm Partners United, comes as some lawyers have split with their firms over the response to Trump's intensifying crackdown on the legal profession. At least 110 individual law partners signed the brief. The filing said the association's more than 700 members, all partners at the 200 largest law firms in the US by revenue, were supporting Susman in their personal capacities, not on behalf of their firms. The lawyers' organization said in a statement that its members "are driven by a collective commitment to protect the rule of law in the United States." Susman Godfrey sued earlier this month to block Trump's order, which restricted its lawyers' access to government buildings and officials, and threatened to cancel federal contracts held by its clients. The executive order accused Susman Godfrey of undermining U.S. elections, which it has denied. The firm has represented machine voting company Dominion Voting Systems in defamation lawsuits against Trump's allies who repeated false claims that the 2020 election was rigged in favor of Democrat Joe Biden. "Orders like this tell the entire profession that taking on cases and clients that are out of favor with the current administration may result in severe retaliation," Friday's brief said. Judges have already issued rulings temporarily blocking key provisions of Trump's similar orders against Susman; Perkins Coie; WilmerHale; and Jenner & Block; finding that the president's actions likely violated constitutional protections for free speech and due process. All four firms have asked the federal court in Washington to permanently strike down Trump's orders. The Justice Department has argued that Trump acted within his authority to penalize the firms for allegedly working to "weaponize" the legal system against him and his allies. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawyers' brief. Nine other law firms have pledged $940 million so far in free legal work and made other concessions to Trump in efforts to rescind or avoid punitive measures against them, leading some lawyers at the firms to quit in response. Most of the largest U.S. law firms have remained on the sidelines. Only a handful of major firms have joined court briefs supporting law firms that are suing the Trump administration. Law professors, advocacy groups, state attorneys general, former top legal executives at large companies and others have also filed court briefs in support of the challenges.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump's ‘personal vendetta' against law firm
April 15 (UPI) -- The Susman Godfrey law firm succeeded in temporarily stopping the Trump administration from blocking its access to federal facilities and revoking government contracts. U.S District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Loren AliKhan during an hour-long hearing on Tuesday called President Donald Trump's recent executive order targeting the law firm a "personal vendetta" and accused Trump of "abusing the powers of his office," the Washington Post reported. She temporarily blocked most of the sanctions against the law firm pending the outcome of the federal lawsuit, including the ban on the law firm's attorneys entering federal buildings and requiring federal agencies to cancel contracts they might have with Susman Godfrey. "Law firms across the country are entering into agreements with the government out of fear that they will be targeted next, and that coercion is plain and simple," AliKhan said as reported by the New York Times. "I admire firms like Susman for standing up and challenging it when it does threaten the very existence of their business," she added. AliKhan also ruled the Trump administration must provide guidance for federal agencies to follow the court's temporary injunction against many of the sanctions that Trump ordered on Wednesday. White House spokesman Harrison Fields said the executive order targets "rogue law firms" by "holding bad actors accountable." "American taxpayers should not fund lucrative contracts with law firms whose actions harm national interests," Fields told the Washington Post in a prepared statement. Trump in the executive order accused the law firm of weaponizing the nation's legal system and removed security clearances for its attorneys, blocked their access to federal buildings and directed federal agencies to end all contracts with Susman Godfrey. "Susman spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections," Trump said in the executive order. "Susman also funds groups that engage dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the United States military through the injection of political and radical ideology," Trump said, "and it supports efforts to discriminate on the basis of race." He said his administration is committed to ending illegal discrimination done "in the name of 'diversity, equity and inclusion' policies. "Those who engage in blatant discrimination and other activities inconsistent with the interests of the United States should not have access to our nation's secrets nor be deemed responsible stewards of federal funds," he added. The law firm represented Dominion Voting Systems in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News and secured a nearly $778 million settlement over claims that the electronic voting systems were compromised during the 2020 election. Susman Godfrey has law offices in Houston, New York City, Los Angeles and Seattle. President Joe Biden appointed AliKhan to the federal court in 2022.
CBS News
15-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Judge blocks Trump administration from enforcing parts of executive order targeting law firm Susman Godfrey
Washington — A federal judge on Tuesday said she will prevent the Trump administration from enforcing portions of an executive order that targets the law firm Susman Godfrey, finding that the directive likely retaliates against the firm and its clients for their exercise of constitutionally protected speech. U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan granted the firm's request for a temporary restraining order following a hearing and said Susman Godfrey is likely to succeed on its claims that the executive order, signed by President Trump last week, violates the First and Fifth Amendments. She specifically blocked the administration from enforcing provisions relating to federal contracting and restricting Susman employees' access to federal buildings and from engaging with government workers. AliKhan said while delivering her ruling from the bench that the government "sought to use its immense power to dictate the positions that law firms may or may not take," which threatens the foundation of legal representation in the U.S. She said the executive order is "based on a personal vendetta" against Susman Godfrey. "The framers of our Constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power," AliKhan, who sits on the federal district court in Washington, D.C., said. Susman Godfrey is the fourth law firm to succeed in the early stages of lawsuits that challenge executive orders signed by Mr. Trump. The orders, signed over the past few weeks, each threaten the firms with sanctions because of their legal work, as well as lawyers who are currently or were previously on their payrolls. Susman Godfrey represented Dominion Voting Systems in a defamation lawsuit filed against Fox News over baseless claims it aired about the 2020 election, which Mr. Trump falsely claims was rigged against him. The case ended with a $787 million settlement agreement before the start of the trial. The firm is also representing Dominion in a defamation case against Newsmax, a conservative television network. A jury trial in that dispute is slated to begin at the end of the month. During the hearing, Donald Verrilli, who is representing Susman Godfrey, called Mr. Trump's executive order "one of the most brazenly unconstitutional exercises of executive power in the history of this nation." He told the court it "runs roughshod" over the separation of powers. Pointing to other law firms that have reached deals with the White House, likely to head-off being targeted by Mr. Trump, Verrilli said they have done so to "stay on the president's good side." Those nine firms have agreed to provide between $40 million and $125 million in pro bono work to causes backed by the president. "We're sliding very fast into an abyss," Verrilli said. "There's only one way to stop that slide: for courts to act decisively and act decisively now." In addition to Susman Godfrey, Mr. Trump has signed executive orders that seek to punish the firms Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, and Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. The firms have all filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the orders, and judges have issued temporary orders blocking enforcement of portions of them while the litigation continues.
Associated Press
15-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Judge temporarily blocks Trump from retaliating against firm that sued Fox News for election lies
A federal judge on Tuesday placed on hold much of Donald Trump's order forbidding the federal government from doing business with anyone who hires the law firm Susman Godfrey, making it the fourth time a judge has found the president's targeting of law firms is likely unconstitutional. 'The framers of our constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power,' District Court Judge Loren AliKhan said as she entered the temporary restraining order on behalf of Susman, which represented a voting machine firm that won a $787 billion settlement from Fox News over its airing of lies about Trump's 2020 loss. Trump's executive order cited the firm's election work as a reason it was targeted. Several other firms that have been targeted by Trump entered into settlements, promising to provide hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free legal work for the president's favored causes. Susman and at least three others have chosen to fight, and all have so far won in court. Don Verrilli, who represented Susman in court on Tuesday, urged the judge to continue that winning streak. 'We're sliding very fast into an abyss here,' he said. 'There's only one way to stop that slide, it's for courts to act decisively, and to act decisively now.' Though the restraining order technically is only good for 14 days, the judge left little doubt as to her views on the constitutionality of Trump's order. She found it likely violates the first and fifth amendments of the U.S. Constitution, saying that 'the government cannot hold lawyers hostage to force them to agree with it.' Richard Lawson, who argued against the order for the Department of Justice, contended it fell squarely in the tradition of presidential decisions regarding contracting and federal facilities that date back to President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s requiring federal contractors to not discriminate. Lawson was unable to convince the judge to wait until federal agencies develop guidance about how to implement Trump's order. AliKhan put on hold provisions in the order that ban federal contractors to companies that hire Susman Godfrey and forbids its employees from entering federal buildings. Verrilli said Susman Godfrey received no warning or explanation of the federal order, but noted that Trump signed it a few weeks before the start of another libel trial over his 2020 election lies, this time targeting the conservative network Newsmax, owned by a prominent Trump ally. Though other firms have also won rulings putting orders targeting them on hold, Attorney General Pam Bondi has sharply criticized at least one of them and told federal agencies they retain the authority to 'decide with whom they will work.'
