Fourth Trump Executive Order Against Law Firm Nullified by Judge
A DC federal judge has struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting Houston-founded law firm Susman Godfrey, marking the fourth takedown of an executive order targeting a law firm.
US District Court Judge Loren AliKhan said Friday the order targeting Susman violates the U.S. Constitution and must be permanently enjoined.
Judge AliKhan reasoned that Susman has nearly 20 clients who are government contractors or are affiliated with entities who do business with the government.
“Whether the executive is operating as a sovereign, contractor, landlord, or employer, it must comply with the Constitution,” AliKhan wrote. “And as Defendants’ counsel conceded at argument, the mere fact that the government has the right to exercise discretion does not immunize retaliatory intent.”
The judge also wrote “The court concludes that the Order constitutes unlawful retaliation against Susman for activities that are protected by the First Amendment, including its representation of certain clients, its donations to certain causes, and its expression of its beliefs regarding diversity.”
“The court’s ruling is a resounding victory for the rule of law and the right of every American to be represented by legal counsel without fear of retaliation … We are also deeply appreciative of those who supported us in this lawsuit, including our superb legal team at Munger, Tolles & Olson and the thousands of lawyers, former judges, law professors, and law students who submitted amicus briefs,” Susman said in a statement.
The firm sued the Trump administration in April, arguing that the order against the firm is vindictive, retaliatory, and violates the Constitution. Similar to the directives against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block, the Susman order instructed agency heads to strip lawyers’ security clearances, restrict personnel from accessing federal buildings, and slash federal contracts held by the firm’s clients.
Susman represented Dominion Voting Systems Inc. in a blockbuster defamation lawsuit against Fox Corp. in which the media company agreed to pay a $787.5 million settlement. The firm is also pursuing a defamation case against Mike Lindell, a well-known Trump advocate and chief executive officer of MyPillow, on behalf of Dominion.
Susman is represented by former US solicitor general Donald Verrilli of Munger Tolles & Olson.
Nine top law firms, including Paul Weiss, Kirkland & Ellis, Willkie Farr, and Latham & Watkins, reached agreements to collectively provide $940 million in free legal services for President Donald Trump to avoid executive orders. Some of the firms also resolved Equal Employment Opportunity Commission inquiries into their diversity programs.
The case is Susman Godfrey v. Executive Office of the President, D.D.C., 1:25-cv- 01107, 6/27/25
To contact the reporters on this story: Tatyana Monnay at [email protected] and Justin Henry at [email protected]
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chris Opfer at [email protected]; John Hughes at [email protected]; Alessandra Rafferty at [email protected]
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