Lawyers Defending American Democracy Amicus Brief in Support of Plaintiff

Key Excerpts

• Attempts by the executive branch, particularly the Office of the President, to engage in expansive regulation of lawyers’ conduct pose the especially serious danger of punishing lawyers who represent clients seeking to hold the executive accountable under the law.
• The[] broad and vague descriptions of conduct [in the Executive Order] provide no meaningful guide to what behavior complies with or violates the standards that the Order purports to announce, other than it involves representation of clients of whom the President disapproves, and presentation of arguments that he dislikes. This leaves a law firm completely at the mercy of the President’s discretion.
• The impact of these provisions effectively is that the President is publicly placing Perkins and any other firms it chooses on an administration “enemies list.” If the Order stands, nothing will prevent the President from systematically doing the same to any firm he fears might represent clients posing any challenge to his exercise of power. The Order therefore is a fundamental assault on the rule of law and the very integrity of the Unite[d] States legal system.