The American Bar Association (ABA) sued the Trump administration on Monday, seeking a court order to bar the White House from what it described as a campaign of intimidation against major law firms.
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The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the administration violated the U.S. Constitution through a series of executive orders targeting law firms for their past clients and hiring practices.
“There has never been a more urgent time for the ABA to defend its members, our profession, and the rule of law itself,” said ABA President William Bay in a statement.
With approximately 150,000 paying members, the ABA is the nation’s largest voluntary association for lawyers.
Four law firms have already filed separate lawsuits against the administration over executive orders by President Donald Trump. These orders allegedly stripped lawyers of security clearances and restricted their access to government officials and federal contracts.
Judges in Washington have ruled in favor of the law firms in four cases, either temporarily or permanently blocking the enforcement of Trump’s orders. One of the firms, Susman Godfrey, which secured a preliminary victory, is representing the ABA in this latest case.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields dismissed the ABA’s suit as “clearly frivolous,” claiming the ABA has no authority over the president’s broad discretion regarding contracts and security clearances. “The administration looks forward to ultimate victory on this issue,” he said.
Despite the court setbacks, nine law firms have reached agreements with the White House, pledging nearly $1 billion in pro bono legal services on mutually agreed-upon issues to avoid facing similar executive actions.
The ABA stated that Trump’s actions have made it difficult to find firms willing to represent it in litigation against the federal government, including in a case it tried to join challenging immigration policies.
The ABA alleges that Trump implemented a “deliberate policy designed to intimidate and coerce law firms and lawyers from challenging the president or his administration in court.”
The lawsuit marks an escalation in tensions between the ABA and the Trump administration, which has cut government funding to the group and moved to limit its influence in vetting federal judicial nominees.
In March, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned that the ABA could lose its authority to accredit law schools unless it eliminated a student diversity requirement.
That same month, a judge temporarily blocked the Justice Department from canceling $3.2 million in grants the ABA uses to train lawyers who represent victims of domestic and sexual violence.
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