The law firm Perkins Coie on Tuesday sued the Trump administration to try to stop an executive order President Trump signed last week that essentially crippled the firm’s ability to represent its clients.
The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, was brought by Williams & Connolly, the elite Washington law firm that specializes in suing the federal government. A hearing in the matter has been set for Wednesday.
There had been deep concerns in the legal community that firms would want to avoid representing Perkins Coie, fearing retribution from Mr. Trump.
Mr. Trump’s executive order, signed last Thursday, barred Perkins Coie’s lawyers from entering federal buildings and discouraged federal officials from interacting with the firm’s lawyers. Cutting off such communication would make it all but impossible for the firm to advocate for its clients.
In the suit filed on Tuesday, Perkins Coie argues the executive order is illegal because the president does not have the power he claims to have and the order violates the Constitution’s separation of powers as well as the First and Fifth Amendments.
Perkins Coie said that the implications for the executive order Mr. Trump signed had significance beyond one law firm, as it was “an affront to the Constitution and our adversarial system of justice.”