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03/14/2025

MAR 14 2025 Legal organizations alarmed over Trump’s targeting of Seattle law firm Perkins Coie
Legal organizations in Washington state have joined the outcry over President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting the Pacific Northwest’s largest law firm, Seattle-based Perkins Coie. The firm is headquartered at 1201 Third Avenue in Seattle and has more than 2,400 employees at 21 offices across the U.S. and overseas.

Trump’s order titled “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLC” seeks to punish the firm, in part in part over its representation of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign, and its involvement in commissioning the anti-Trump dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele in 2016, which Trump said was “designed to steal an election.” This week, the firm sued to challenge the order in federal court in Washington, D.C.

RELATED: Law firm says Trump order targeting it specifically is attack on rule of law

Judge Beryl Howell found that Trump’s order could create a “chilling harm of blizzard proportions” around legal representation in general and blocked Trump’s order temporarily.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Bar Association's board this week issued a statement expressing “grave concerns” about Trump’s order, calling it a “dangerous strike against an impartial and independent justice system.” Nearly all the organization’s board members from around the state approved the letter.

The Seattle chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a progressive bar association, echoed the alarm, saying, “If Trump is successful in attacking a well-respected, major, and essentially centrist law firm, Trump will only be emboldened to continue his attacks on the legal system in general, including judges, other lawyers, and state and federal government officials who stand up to his bullying.”

Additionally, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown signed on to a brief with other state attorneys general that said, “This Court cannot allow the President’s campaign of personal and political retribution to cut off effective advocacy.”

Chris Geidner is a Washington D.C.-based journalist who writes and publishes the legal newsletter Law Dork, and covered the federal court hearing on Wednesday.

He noted that the order against Perkins Coie goes much farther than Trump’s previous order targeting a different law firm, because it seeks to pressure the firm’s clients. It requires government contractors, which include many prominent Seattle-based companies, to disclose any business they do with Perkins Coie to federal agencies. Perkins Coie told the court such pressures pose an “existential” risk to the law firm.

Geidner said the Trump administration’s position was represented by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s chief of staff Chad Mizelle, who said the president has authority to take action against Perkins Coie because the order involves matters of national security. But Judge Howell found that Trump’s order amounted to a personal vendetta that is not a governmental interest.

RELATED: No security clearance, no government work. Seattle law firm faces Trump’s wrath

Perkins Coie sought a restraining order against three provisions and Howell granted that order. She found Trump’s order is likely unconstitutional under the First Amendment's rights to free speech and association, the Fifth Amendment's due process rights, and the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel, Geidner said.

He added that Howell included language to ensure the Trump administration complies with this restraining order and does not pressure Perkins Coie clients.

The administration is “specifically ordered to communicate to every recipient of a request for that disclosure that they don’t have to do so for now,” Geidner said. In addition, the Justice Department has to provide a status report to Howell describing how it's ensured compliance.

“In essence, she’s saying, 'I want to see your work,'” he said.

The attorneys involved in the cases outlined in Trump's order have since left Perkins Coie, and Howell affirmed that in any case, questions about individual lawyers’ actions are handled in the courts.

“This was about the political positions taken, this was about the clients represented, this was about the clearly constitutionally protected actions of this law firm,” Geidner said Howell found.

The case is expected to move forward quickly since both parties have agreed to skip over preliminary injunction stage and go straight to the merits of the case, according to Geidner.

It’s “clearly an effort by the judge to get this case fully resolved as quickly as possible so that whichever party she rules against — and it sounds like it’s going to be the Trump administration — is able to move the case on to appeal if they wish to do so,” he added.

In a special response to Trump's executive order called Perkins Coie Facts, managing partner Bill Malley posted a statement saying, “We are grateful for the outpouring of support and offers of assistance following the issuance of last Thursday’s Executive Order. I have never been prouder to stand with my firm and others in the legal community in support of our people, our clients, and our profession.”

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Addresses Risks from Perkins Coie LLP MAR 6 2025
M-25-17 Implementation of the Executive Order on “Addressing Risks From Perkins Coie LLP” (March 7, 2025) Memoranda
STOPPING ABUSES THAT UNDERMINE THE NATION: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to suspend security clearances held by individuals at Perkins Coie LLP, pending a review of whether their access to sensitive information is consistent with the national interest.

Security clearances held by Perkins Coie LLP employees will be immediately suspended, pending a review of whether their access to sensitive information is consistent with the national interest.
The Federal Government will halt all material and services, including sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) access provided to Perkins Coie LLP and restrict its employees’ access to government buildings.
Federal Agencies will also refrain from hiring Perkins Coie LLP employees unless specifically authorized.
To ensure taxpayer dollars no longer go to contractors whose earnings subsidize partisan lawsuits against the United States, the Federal Government will prohibit funding contractors that use Perkins Coie LLP.
All Federal Government contracts with Perkins Coie LLP will undergo rigorous scrutiny, with agency heads directed to terminate engagements to the maximum extent permitted by law.
The practices of Perkins Coie LLP will be reviewed under Title VII to ensure compliance with civil rights laws against racial bias.

ENSURING GOVERNMENT SERVES THE AMERICAN PEOPLE: President Trump’s Administration will not tolerate Perkins Coie LLP’s unethical and discriminatory actions that threaten our elections, military strength, and national security.

In 2016, Perkins Coie LLP hired Fusion GPS to manufacture a false “dossier” designed to steal an election while representing failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Perkins Coie LLP pushed debunked claims of secret Trump-Russia communications via Alfa Bank, with attorney Michael Sussmann indicted for lying to the FBI about this scheme.
Perkins Coie LLP has worked with activist donors, including George Soros, to judicially overturn enacted election laws, such as those requiring voter identification.
A court was forced to sanction Perkins Coie attorneys for unethical lack of candor before the court.
Perkins Coie LLP has been accused of racially discriminating against its own attorneys, staff, and applicants.
Perkins Coie has publicly announced racial percentage quotas for hiring and promotions, violating civil rights laws, and excluded applicants from fellowships based on race until lawsuits forced change.
Perkins Coie LLP hosted an FBI workspace, raising concerns about partisan misuse of sensitive data during investigations targeting President Trump.
Perkins Coie LLP has filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration, including one designed to reduce military readiness.

A RETURN TO ACCOUNTABILITY: President Trump is delivering on his promise to end the weaponization of government and protect the nation from partisan actors who exploit their influence.

President Trump is refocusing government operations to their core mission—serving the citizens of the United States.
President Trump signed an Executive Order to end the weaponization of the Federal Government on his first day in office after promising to “end forever the weaponization of government and the abuse of law enforcement against political opponents.”
President Trump revoked security clearances held by dozens of intelligence officials who falsely claimed in a 2020 letter, during the height of the U.S. presidential election season, that Hunter Biden’s laptop was tantamount to Russian disinformation.