On April 8, 2025, the New York City Bar Association and more than a dozen other bar associations filed an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie LLP in its legal challenge to Executive Order No. 14230 issued by President Trump. The EO restricts law firms like Perkins Coie from representing clients who do business with the …
UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky led an effort urging law school deans to condemn President Trump’s use of government power to retaliate against law firms, warning it threatens democratic principles and chills dissent. While nearly 80 deans joined the statement, many declined, reflecting growing fear in academia and the legal field of becoming political …
President Trump’s recent wave of executive orders targeting major law firms—beginning with Perkins Coie and followed by Paul Weiss, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale—has alarmed the legal community, raising fears of political retribution for representing clients or causes critical of the administration. Critics warn that these actions threaten core constitutional principles by pressuring firms to …
More than 500 law firms have signed an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie in its legal challenge against a series of retaliatory executive orders issued by President Trump, which critics argue threaten the rule of law and represent an abuse of executive power.
French President Emmanuel Macron has publicly defended the independence of the judiciary following threats against Judge Bénédicte de Perthuis, who sentenced far-right leader Marine Le Pen to a five-year election ban for embezzlement of European Parliament funds. Le Pen, head of the National Rally party, was convicted for orchestrating fake job contracts to funnel EU …
Rachel Rothschild, a law professor whose legal research helped inspire groundbreaking “climate superfund” laws in New York and Vermont, has become the focus of a politically motivated campaign by fossil fuel-aligned groups. These organizations are using public records lawsuits and media pressure to discredit her work and discourage climate litigation. The campaign, backed by industry …
On March 26, 2025, a panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices unanimously voted to indict former President Jair Bolsonaro for his role in an alleged attempt to overturn the results of the 2022 election and retain power. Prosecutors accuse Bolsonaro and 33 allies of plotting a coup, which allegedly included plans to assassinate President Lula …
Amid rising concerns among Department of Justice employees about political retribution under the Trump administration, a group of DOJ alumni has launched a network to support current staff. The group, composed of former DOJ lawyers across administrations, aims to protect the independence of career civil servants and defend them against intimidation, especially as Trump signals …
On March 24, 2025, the Emergency Lawyers network in Sudan reported that at least five civilians were killed and dozens injured during paramilitary shelling on a mosque in eastern Khartoum. The attack, blamed on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), occurred during evening prayers and targeted non-combatants in the East Nile district. This marks the second …
President Donald Trump has escalated his attacks on the legal community, issuing a new directive that empowers Attorney General Pam Bondi to sanction lawyers and law firms engaged in what he calls “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” against the federal government. The memo threatens disciplinary actions — including revoked security clearances and canceled federal contracts …