Cultural Heritage Partners is proud to have joined the amici curiae supporting fellow firms challenging President Trump’s unconstitutional attempt to undermine the rule of law. Earlier this year, President Trump issued executive orders targeting several prominent law firms in a flagrant attack on the separation of powers. The goal of these decrees was to intimidate law firms into declining to represent clients adverse to the administration and negotiating deals committing pro bono hours in support of conservative causes and clients. While many firms have capitulated, others are fighting back, and those law firms have been successful in four separate lawsuits.
CHP joined 504 firms in support of Perkins Coie’s suit against President Trump. We also joined 807 firms in support of Jenner & Block, 808 firms in support of WilmerHale, and 884 firms in support of Susman Godfrey in their suits against the unlawful executive orders. We are heartened to see the number of firms joining these efforts grow and even more encouraged to see those cases be decided in favor of the firms.
U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell permanently blocked the executive order against Perkins Coie, writing, “[t]he importance of independent lawyers to ensuring the American judicial system’s fair and impartial administration of justice has been recognized in this country since its founding era.” Additionally, in back-to-back orders, judges also temporarily blocked the executive orders against Jenner & Block and WilmerHale. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon wrote, “The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting.”
Most recently, in the Susman Godfrey opinion, U.S. District Judge Loren Alikhan wrote “every court to have considered a challenge to one of these orders has found grave constitutional violations and permanently enjoined enforcement of the order in full…. Today, this court follows suit, concluding that the order targeting Susman violates the U.S. Constitution and must be permanently enjoined.”
Our firm is committed to protecting the rule of law, and we are glad to stand on the right side of history. In our efforts to resist the erosion of protections for historic properties in this country, we are tracking projects where sacred sites, burial grounds, and other important cultural resources are at risk. You can find ongoing updates about these projects—and more—on our Fight Back page. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook.