A letter from America’s former lawyers

Trump’s attacks on law firms are an attack on our legal system

We, the undersigned, are alumni of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) who have collectively served both Republican and Democratic administrations. While some of us were political appointees, many others were nonpartisan career civil servants who served multiple administrations. Each of us strongly condemns President Trump’s and the Department of Justice’s recent campaign of intimidation and retaliation against lawyers and law firms, including the Executive Orders targeting Perkins Coie, Covington & Burling, Paul Weiss, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations specifically targeting particular law firms; and recent threats against lawyers who appear opposite the federal government. These executive actions are an affront to the Constitution and the rule of law. They undermine our legal system, the pursuit of justice, and our democracy.

As former DOJ officials, we each proudly took an oath to support and defend our Constitution and faithfully execute the duties of our offices. When we faced vigorous, spirited, and hard-charging opposing counsel in the course of our work, we did not shrink from that challenge; we welcomed it. That is because the job of lawyers who represent the United States is not to win convictions or lawsuits, but to see that justice is done. Each of us knew that zealous opposing counsel, who were themselves bound by the professional standards that govern all lawyers, were necessary and helpful to us doing our job and to ensuring a just outcome.

Strong opposing counsel play a critical role in our justice system, ensuring that the rights of the accused and all parties in litigation are preserved, that those in need of legal representation are adequately served, and that government actions that may violate laws or constitutional rights are properly challenged. Without such counsel, our adversarial process does not function, those who exercise power in the name of the government cannot be held accountable, and DOJ lawyers cannot follow their oaths and do their jobs.

In short, vigorous counsel who oppose the United States government in litigation are not a bug of our legal system, but a necessary feature. Punishing lawyers for representing their clients in opposition to the government — or for taking positions that the president disagrees with — undermines this fundamental basis of the rule of law.

Make no mistake: the Trump Administration’s punitive and unjust actions are wrong even if — especially if — they prove effective at silencing lawyers. Might does not make right. Indeed, these actions are particularly dangerous when they succeed in intimidating lawyers into abandoning their fundamental role in our justice system.

All lawyers must condemn these actions targeting the legal profession and stand up for the rule of law. Doing so is essential to keeping ours a country of laws, not of men.

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See the list of 1,300+ signatories here.

If you formerly worked at the Department of Justice, you can sign this letter here.

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