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A judge struck down an executive order targeting WilmerHale, in the latest victory for the handful of firms that have fought back against a Trump administration crackdown.
May 27, 2025Updated 9:48 p.m. ET
President Trump’s campaign of retribution against elite law firms that have resisted his efforts to subjugate them is, so far, not going well.
On Tuesday, a judge struck down his executive order seeking to crush WilmerHale, one of several firms the president says have wronged him or have done work for his political opponents. The decision was the latest in an unbroken string of victories for the handful of firms that have sued to stop him.
Judge Richard J. Leon of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that the order was unconstitutional and “must be struck down in its entirety,” adding that Mr. Trump appeared intent on driving the firm to the bargaining table by imposing “a kitchen sink of severe sanctions.”
The ruling seemed to validate the strategy, embraced by a minority of firms, of fighting the administration instead of caving to a pressure campaign and making deals with Mr. Trump to avoid persecution. Judges have already rejected similarly punitive executive orders aimed at the firms Perkins Coie and Jenner & Block, and lawyers representing Susman Godfrey asked a fourth judge earlier this month to issue a final decision in their case.
Judge Leon said that despite his decisive ruling, the firm had already suffered because of Mr. Trump’s actions. Even though he had temporarily blocked the order one day after the president signed it, he noted that existing clients had already started “curtailing their relationships with WilmerHale, and new clients are taking their business elsewhere.”
“The cornerstone of the American system of justice is an independent judiciary and an independent bar willing to tackle unpopular cases, however daunting. The founding fathers knew this!” Judge Leon wrote in a 73-page opinion laced with more than two dozen exclamation points.
