Attorney General Bonta in Brief Supporting Perkins Coie: President Trump’s Latest Action Chills Free Speech, Undermines Rule of Law

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition, filed an amicus brief in support of the law firm Perkins Coie LLP’s lawsuit seeking to block the Trump Administration from retaliating against the firm and its attorneys for no reason other than that it has dared to challenge the Administration in court. The Trump Administration’s actions against Perkins Coie are part of a campaign by President Trump to silence lawyers and law firms that represent individuals and causes to which he is opposed and to chill opposition. In the amicus brief, the attorneys general defend the rule of law and the fundamental principle underlying the American legal system — that everybody is entitled to vigorous representation.   

“The right to an attorney is a bedrock of our legal system and American democracy as a whole,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The Trump Administration’s political attack on Perkins Coie — based solely on the clients and ideas they represent — is unprecedented and unjustifiable. If it goes unchecked, it will have an immediate chilling effect on attorneys nationwide, instilling a fear of retaliation among those who dare to disagree with this President. I stand with my fellow attorneys general in condemning the President’s campaign of retribution. Once again, the President acts as if he were a king — ignoring the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution he swore to uphold.”

The Trump Administration has retaliated against law firms and other legal professionals associated with investigations related to President Trump or who espouse or employ principles and practices that advance diversity, equity, and inclusion — specifically Perkins Coie and Covington and Burling LLP. In a March 6, 2025 Executive Order entitled “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP,” the Trump Administration targeted the law firm for its representation of Hillary Clinton, its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, and unsupported “national security” concerns. 

In their amicus brief, the attorneys general support Perkins Coie’s motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent the Trump Administration’s retaliatory actions against Perkins Coie from going into effect while litigation continues. The attorneys general argue that the President’s executive order runs roughshod over the First Amendment and the basic principles underlying the U.S. adversarial justice system by attempting to exclude certain lawyers and certain viewpoints from reaching the court at all: barring Perkins Coie lawyers from entering federal buildings and meeting with federal government employees; revoking their security clearances; and ending existing federal contracts with the firm and its clients.

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorney general of Washington, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont in filing the amicus brief.  

A copy of the brief is available here.