ZMO Law is proud to have joined an amicus brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on behalf of 813 solo and small law firms from across the country in support of the appellees in the challenges to a series of executive orders targeting major law firms. These were the Kudos and thank yous to Maryland attorney Carolyn Elefant who led the charge drafting the brief and organizing small firms like ZMO Law to sign on.
These were the executive orders the Trump administration issued last year targeting large law firms that somehow crossed the president. The orders tried to prevent the firms from receiving federal contracts, prevented lawyers from entering federal buildings and in some cases even prevented federal attorneys such as assistant U.S. attorneys from speaking to certain lawyers from the targeted firms, thus ending their ability to advocate for their clients. Judges struck down four of the orders as illegal (nine spineless firms settled with Trump — if they were unable to stick up for themselves, how could they possibly fight for their clients?). Trump’s Department of Justice is appealing.
Although the orders are directed at large firms, the brief explains why their impact goes further. Solo practitioners and small firms often represent unpopular clients, handle politically sensitive matters, and depend on access to federal courts and agencies to compete with larger firms and provide excellent service to clients. If the government can punish lawyers or law firms for the clients they represent, the threat does not stop with Big Law. It extends to every lawyer whose work requires independence from political pressure.
That concern is acute for solo and small-firm lawyers, who make up the majority of law firms in the United States and serve clients who often have nowhere else to turn. Small law firms represent individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, immigrants, criminal defendants, and others who rely on independent counsel willing to take difficult or controversial cases. More than half of the amici that signed the brief represent clients in federal matters, and a significant number practice in federal court or before federal agencies exclusively.
The brief argues that the executive orders are already causing concrete harm. Even before full enforcement, they create a chilling effect by signaling that lawyers can face retaliation for representing clients or causes the government does not like. For solo and small-firm lawyers, the threat is particularly severe. Unlike large firms, small law offices cannot spread the risk across multiple practice groups or absorb financial and operational consequences of government retaliation.
The brief also focuses on the constitutional stakes for clients. The right to counsel means little if lawyers fear punishment for taking on certain representations. When government action deters lawyers from accepting sensitive federal matters, clients may lose access to chosen counsel and, in some cases, meaningful access to justice at all. The burden falls hardest on the vulnerable clients who most often depend on solo and small-firm representation.
At bottom, the amicus brief defends a basic principle: lawyers must be free to represent their clients without government coercion or political retaliation. The independence of lawyers is essential to the rule of law and a crucial check on government overreach.
ZMO Law is always happy to fight the government. We take on the feds, the State of New York and the City of New York on a daily basis. We were pleased to join the brief because the attempt to muzzle lawyers went beyond any one firm or set of litigants. It tried to set a precedent that would prevent lawyers from doing their jobs fearlessly, representing clients in fair fights in fari courts, without political interference, fear, or favor.