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Freshfields US was the only top 20 law firm to sign on to a legal brief supporting the efforts of Perkins Coie to contest an executive order from Donald Trump banning it from federal government business and properties.
The brief, which was filed with a Washington DC federal court where Perkins has sued the Trump administration, included more than 500 firms as signatories. However, nearly all of the roster was comprised of small and medium-sized firms, and many focused on litigation practices. The biggest US corporate law firms have large transactional practices that could face retaliation from the Trump administration.
The Financial Times previously reported Munger, Tolles & Olson, the powerhouse Los Angeles boutique that prepared the brief, had difficulty rallying large firms to publicly back Perkins. As of last weekend, no top 20 US law firms by revenue rankings collected by The American Lawyer magazine had pledged “unconditional support” to the brief, with only three of the top 100 also on board at the time.
Freshfields, a UK-based firm with a burgeoning US corporate practice, did not respond to request for comment.
The brief described the executive order against Perkins as unconstitutional and said “any controversial representation challenging actions of the current administration (or even causes it disfavours) now brings with it the risk of devastating retaliation. Whatever short-term advantage an administration may gain from exercising power in this way, the rule of law cannot long endure in the climate of fear that such actions create.”
This is a developing story
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