Over 1,100 law students—30% from top 14 law schools—signed an amicus brief supporting Susman Godfrey’s lawsuit challenging a Trump executive order that threatens its attorneys and clients. The brief signals growing student resistance toward Big Law firms that negotiated with the Trump administration for immunity from the order.
Many students are now rethinking summer positions or future employment with firms perceived as compromising legal ethics for political expediency. Some, like Georgetown’s energy law group, have boycotted recruitment events, while others are pivoting to plaintiffs’ firms participating in a new initiative called Project Principle, offering alternatives to Big Law.
The executive orders have sparked concern that working at targeted or cooperating firms could impact future government employment. Meanwhile, the divergence between student activism and firm pragmatism may reshape recruitment and long-term hiring trends in the legal profession.