Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law Amicus Brief in Support of Plaintiff

Key Excerpts

• The object of the Executive Order is to cow into submission, through a campaign of official intimidation, not only its express target, Perkins Coie, but also any other law firm tempted to advocate positions displeasing to the Trump administration.
• [T]he Executive Order and others like it threaten the continued vitality of our system of separation of powers and its promise to “assure the absence of despotism.” (citation omitted)
• Without the ability of lawyers to take on clients or causes unpopular with the Administration, our form of government and its guarantees suffer greatly. In no area of our justice system will this chilling effect have a greater adverse impact than pro bono advocacy.