As former President Donald Trump begins a second term, Washington is witnessing the rapid emergence of new law firms aimed at defending civil servants and government critics caught in the administration’s sweeping crackdown.
In just two weeks, at least three firms have been launched by former Justice Department lawyers and litigators. These firms—including the Civil Service Law Center, Lowell & Associates, and the DC Law Collective—seek to represent federal workers laid off or targeted by the administration, as well as clients facing politicized legal actions.
One founding attorney described the effort as a response to “a long string of lawless tactics” and “an increasingly unfair government.” Abbe Lowell, a high-profile defense lawyer, left his previous firm to start a boutique practice staffed by attorneys disillusioned with Big Law’s compliance with the White House.
The legal backlash follows Trump’s pressure campaign on major law firms, which included sanctions against those perceived as hostile and deals with others aligned with his agenda. Judges have already struck down some of these executive actions.
With tens of thousands of public employees dismissed and many more under threat, this legal response marks an urgent defense of institutional integrity. While based in the U.S., the development offers a critical example of how lawyers may organize to resist authoritarian legal manipulation, a phenomenon of growing global relevance in contexts of democratic backsliding.