Show threadRichard PennerMar 9

So, finally about that 97-page brief that kicks off the appeal. It was filed by political appointees and not the career lawyers who would normally work at this level. (The same appointees who seemed fine with dismissal on last Monday.) That might account for the tone which is more "judges bad" and less "judges make mistakes."

My summary: "My Executive Orders always begin with a declaration of my personal animus behind this retaliation because I am governed by that and not the law. The courts are clearly wrong because you are not the boss of me. I can too revoke security clearances for this reason, because I'm pretty sure you told me so. Also, if I sic the DOJ on specific individuals I hate, that's not retaliation, that's just the DOJ doing law things. And it's unfair for the judges to stop me from kicking these bad, bad law firms out of court rooms and signed contracts because I didn't do that yet — just a written, signed order to do so. And if it helps to rule in my favor, you can ignore the part where I confessed this is all retaliation for political reasons and my hurt feelings."

See https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70694462/perkins-coie-llp-v-doj/ (2026-03-06)

Regarding the security clearance revocation, we have only the #DOJ brief, but it reads a bit more seriously than the rest. #snark #ExecutiveOrder #LawFirms #PerkinsCoie #JennerBlock #WilmerHale #WilmerCutler #SusmanGodfrey #Trump

Richard PennerMar 9

In other news, #Trump has bullied various #LawFirms into promising millions of dollars of free services and at least four firms said no, and won in Federal District Court.

> Trump’s only Big Law victories so far have come outside the courtroom. Nine top law firms ... reached agreements with Trump to provide at least $940 million worth of pro bono services collectively to avoid executive orders.

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/justice-replaces-attorney-on-big-law-executive-order-appeals

Last Tuesday, a day after saying in Appellate Court that they planned to abandon their appeal, Trump's DOJ reversed course.

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70694462/perkins-coie-llp-v-doj/

> The administration told a court on Monday that it was abandoning its defense of executive orders targeting the firms. But on Tuesday, the Justice Department abruptly changed its position.

> The move amounted to a dizzying turnabout in one of President Trump’s most audacious — and, many legal experts said, unconstitutional — attempts at subduing potentially powerful adversaries. It created new uncertainty in a legal profession already roiled by the orders, after some of the country’s biggest law firms thought they had put to rest a key part of the president’s retribution campaign less than 24 hours before.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/us/politics/trump-law-firm-orders-reversal.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.kMWR.SDFaaq-20pk1&smid=url-share

So on Friday, the DOJ is back in court with 97 pages in their opening brief in the appeal.

#PerkinsCoie LLP v. #DOJ (25-5241, Court of Appeals, DC Circuit, 2026-03-06 Brief for Appellants, 97 pages)
(consolidating Jenner & Block LLP v. DOJ, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP v. #ExecutiveOfficeOfThePresident, and #SusmanGodfrey LLP v. #EOP )

#JennerBlock #WilmerCutlerPickeringHaleDorr #WilmerCutler

Justice Replaces Attorney on Big Law Executive Order Appeals

The Justice Department has tapped a new attorney to defend President Donald Trump’s punitive executive orders against major firms in two federal appeals court cases.