US appeals court to hear Trump's bid to punish major law firms

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1. Appeals court to hear arguments over Trump's orders that sought to punish 4 elite law firms

Appeals court to hear arguments over Trump's orders that sought to punish 4 elite law firms

Four judges previously determined the executive orders were unconstitutional.

By Alexander Mallin
May 14, 2026, 5:15 AM

A District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals panel is set to hear arguments Thursday over the Trump administration's bid to reinstate executive orders that sought punishing sanctions against four elite law firms over their past representation or employment of perceived political foes of President Donald Trump.

Four separate district court judges had previously granted permanent restraining orders sought by the four law firms -- Perkins Coie, Susman Godfrey, Wilmer Hale and Jenner & Block -- after determining the EOs were unconstitutional. ... Some of the judges derided the White House's efforts to punish the firms in particularly blistering terms, likening the pressure campaign mounted last year by the Trump administration against 'Big Law' as akin to McCarthyism and the 'Red Scare' era in American history.

Staring down similar prospects of facing executive orders that sought to virtually eliminate their interactions with the government, at least nine other elite firms entered into controversial settlements with the Trump administration in exchange for providing pro bono legal services for causes supported by the White House.

Those settlements, which in sum totaled nearly $1 billion by the White House's calculation, led to an exodus of high-profile attorneys at several of the firms who said the agreements amounted to capitulation in response to an unlawful intimidation campaign by the Trump administration.

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