The Fight Against Presidential Targeting of Law Firms: 2025 in Review

"The US legal profession was just one of the pillars of American democracy that was targeted in the early days of the second Trump administration. At EFF, we were proud to publicly and loudly support the legal profession and, most importantly, continue to do our work challenging the government's erosion of digital rights-work that became even more critical as many law firms shied away from pro bono work."

"For those that don't know: pro bono work is work that for-profit law firms undertake for the public good. This usually means providing legal counsel to clients who desperately need but cannot afford it. It's a vital practice, since non-profits like EFF don't have the same capacity, resources, or expertise of a classic white shoe law firm. It's mutually beneficial, actually, since law firms and non-profits have different experience and areas of expertise that can supplement each other's work."

"A little more than a month into the new administration, President Trump began retaliating against large law firms who supported had investigations against him or litigated against his interests, representing clients either challenging his policies during his first term or defending the outcome of the 2020 election among other cases. The retaliation quickly spread to other firms- firms lost government contracts and had security clearances stripped from their lawyers. Twenty large law firm were threatened by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over their DEI policies."

The US legal profession and pro bono practice faced targeted attacks early in the second Trump administration. EFF publicly supported the legal profession and continued challenging government erosion of digital rights as many law firms shied away from pro bono. Pro bono work has for-profit law firms provide legal counsel to clients who cannot afford it, supplementing nonprofit capacity and expertise. Within a month the administration retaliated against large firms tied to investigations or litigation, stripping contracts and security clearances and threatening firms over DEI. The policy was formalized in a March 22, 2025 presidential memo. Some firms capitulated; a few sued and EFF joined amicus briefs with over 500 firms supporting.

Read at Electronic Frontier Foundation