TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Julia Wilburn on May 27, 2025

U.S. District Judge John Bates in Washington, D.C., on Friday permanently blocked President Donald Trump’s executive order targeting law firm Jenner & Block, ruling it an unconstitutional abuse of the president’s power, according to Bloomberg News. The firm sued the administration on March 28 in response to a March 25 executive order that sanctioned the firm for its pro bono work and ties to Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election. Bates initially imposed a temporary halt on the order. In Friday's ruling, he said, “This order, like the others, seeks to chill legal representation the administration doesn’t like, thereby insulating the Executive Branch from the judicial check fundamental to the separation of powers.” In a second case,  U.S. District Judge Richard Leon today ruled in favor of WilmerHale’s request to strike down a similar executive order targeting it from March 27. Leon also found that order unconstitutional and granted summary judgement to the firm in lieu of proceeding to a full trial.