Attorney General Bonta Opposes Trump Administration Executive Orders Targeting Law Firms’ Rights to Free Speech

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta today joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in submitting an amicus brief opposing the Trump Administration's Executive Orders targeting four law firms for representing positions and clients the administration dislikes. In the brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that these Executive Orders violate the Constitutional right to free speech and damage the public's ability to readily access high-quality legal representation.

"The Trump Administration is attempting to unlawfully retaliate against law firms simply because the President dislikes their views and the clients they represent," said Attorney General Bonta. "President Trump is trying to bully those who dare to disagree with him. We are proud to stand with those challenging this unconstitutional attack on free speech.

In March and April of 2025, the Trump Administration issued Executive Orders Number 14230, 14246, 14250, and 14263 ("the EOs"). The EOs impose sanctions on Perkins Coie LLP, Jenner & Block LLP, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP, and Susman Godfrey LLP ("the law firms") respectively. The law firms filed lawsuits against the Trump Administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asking the court to declare the EOs invalid. The district court granted the law firms' requests, and the Trump Administration appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

In today's amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition ask the court of appeals to affirm the district court's ruling invalidating the EOs. In the brief, Attorney General Bonta and the coalition argue that:

• The EOs discriminate against the law firms based on their expressed viewpoints and their legal advocacy on behalf of clients, both of which are protected under the First Amendment.
• The EOs, if not invalidated, could discourage law firms from holding viewpoints or advocating on behalf of clients in opposition to the Trump Administration. This would harm states' abilities to serve the interests of their residents by ensuring high-quality legal services are easily accessible by all.

Attorney General Bonta was outspoken this year in defense of the rule of law. Along with other state attorneys general, he issued an open letter to the legal community in response to President Trump's calls for the impeachment of federal judges and threats of retribution against law firms. He stood with WilmerHale, Jenner & Block, Susman Godfrey, and Perkins Coie in amicus briefs in support of their lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration's retaliatory executive orders targeting law firms that represent clients or positions it disagrees with. And he issued a separate statement on the need to speak up and push back when our democratic norms are violated, our legal system is undermined, and our laws are broken.

More recently, the Attorney General sent letters to the U.S. Department of Justice raising alarm about the abuse of executive power with the indictments of New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey and challenging Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr's campaign of censorship that led to the suspension of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

In filing today's amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.