Overview
- A three-judge panel in Washington heard consolidated appeals Thursday on the administration’s effort to reinstate executive orders against Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey.
- The panel includes two Democratic-appointed judges and one Republican-appointed judge, a lineup that court watchers say could complicate the government’s path.
- Four district judges had already blocked the orders as unconstitutional after the White House moved to bar firm lawyers from federal buildings, suspend security clearances, and cut off government-linked business that firms said could bankrupt them.
- Former Solicitor General Paul Clement argued for the firms that the orders punish protected advocacy, while Justice Department lawyer Abhishek Kambli said lower courts intruded on the president’s authority over security clearances and national security.
- The Justice Department briefly told parties in March it would drop the appeal before reversing course, and the eventual rulings could be taken to the Supreme Court as related cases and settlements ripple across Big Law.