Bar Associations File Amicus Brief in Support of Susman Godfrey
Following Amicus Briefs for Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale
Following amicus briefs recently submitted by a group of bar associations in support of Perkins Coie LLP, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale, a group of bar associations has submitted an amicus brief in support of Susman Godfrey LLP’s motion for summary judgment in response to the Executive Order (EO) directed against it.
The EOs, which, among other things, impose severe restrictions on firms’ ability to represent clients who conduct business with the federal government, are part of a series of actions targeting law firms that have represented clients who are disfavored by the executive branch.
As the EOs against law firms to date are substantially similar in content, the arguments in the amicus briefs in support of the law firms are nearly identical as well.
Organized by the New York City Bar Association, the brief is also signed by multiple other bar associations, including the Boston Bar Association, Chicago Bar Association, Colorado Bar Association, Denver Bar Association, King County Bar Association (Seattle), Los Angeles County Bar Association, New York County Lawyers Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, San Diego County Bar Association, and Bar Association of San Francisco.
The brief argues that “coercing lawyers to replace their loyalty to clients with loyalty to the President would deprive clients of effective and ethical legal representation. Without vigorous advocacy by lawyers independent of the executive, the judiciary is unable to fulfill its constitutional role of checking unlawful action in our system of separated powers. It erodes the strength of our adversarial system and thus diminishes the proper functioning of the judiciary on which the rule of law itself depends.”
The brief characterizes the EO as part of an “assault on the independence of the legal profession” and an “attack on constitutional democracy and the rule of law.” Law firms “play a crucial role in preserving adversarial justice by litigating to assert legal rights and prevent abuses of government power,” states the brief. “In our adversarial system, the truth is uncovered through close scrutiny of the facts and robust cross-examination. From there, the court reaches legal conclusions by a neutral and impartial evaluation of arguments the lawyers make in zealously representing their clients’ interests.” The brief explains that the EOs targeting law firms will negatively affect nonprofit legal organizations, which represent some of the most disfavored interests and parties, and which heavily rely on pro bono work by large firms.
The brief further warns that undermining the bar’s independence “has historically been a key step on the road to authoritarianism.”
The brief concludes, “The Order is not only blatantly illegal; it is a naked attempt to instill fear in the legal profession and intimidate lawyers into submission, thereby co-opting the bar to be subservient to the executive branch, undermining the judiciary’s ability to check executive power, and striking at the heart of the rule of law. The Court should grant Plaintiff’s requested relief and enjoin this Executive Order to limit the chilling effects on the legal profession.”
Bret Parker, Executive Director of the New York City Bar Association, said, “Every lawyer takes an oath to uphold the Constitution, and at this moment that requires standing up for the right to legal representation, the right of lawyers to represent their clients without interference, the independence of the judicial branch, and the rule of law itself.”
The brief was drafted by the bar associations’ counsel, Professor Jeannie Suk Gersen of Harvard Law School*, and Protect Democracy, and submitted for the following:
Metropolitan and State Bar Associations:
New York City Bar Association
Boston Bar Association
Chicago Bar Association
Colorado Bar Association
Denver Bar Association
King County Bar Association (Seattle)
Los Angeles County Bar Association
New York County Lawyers Association
Philadelphia Bar Association
San Diego County Bar Association
Bar Association of San Francisco
Affinity, Specialty, Regional and Local Bar Associations:
Asian American Bar Association of New York
Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Silicon Valley
Beverly Hills Bar Association
Lawyers Club of San Diego
Metropolitan Black Bar Association
Monroe County Bar Association
Mother Attorney Mentoring Association of Seattle
Muslim Bar Association of New York
National Association of Women Lawyers
Queen’s Bench Bar Association
Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York
Women Lawyers on Guard Action Network
Read the brief here: https://bit.ly/4jssRJK
About the Association
The mission of the New York City Bar Association, which was founded in 1870 and has approximately 23,000 members, is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote reform of the law, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society and the public interest in our community, our nation, and throughout the world. www.nycbar.org
* Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only.