Bloomberg: Big Law’s Peril From Trump Orders Is Shown in Court Filings

Bloomberg Law says:

WilmerHale and Jenner & Block laid bare the existential risks Donald Trump’s orders pose as the law firms rushed into court to stop the president.

Trump’s directive to cut companies’ federal contracts for which WilmerHale has done work could affect 21 of the firm’s top 25 clients, the firm said in its March 28 lawsuit. The order threatens “the very viability of the firm’s business model,” WilmerHale said.

WilmerHale’s loss of clients who are contractors “would be a devastating blow,” US District Judge Richard Leon said late on March 28. “This says nothing of the potential clients who may not even consider hiring” the firm because of contract worries, he said.

…More than 40% of Jenner & Block’s revenue last year came from clients who are US contractors, subcontractors, or affiliates, the firm said in its lawsuit. “If we lost that business, or even a portion of it, it would be a serious threat to the firm’s financial health,” firm chair Thomas Perrelli said in a court filing.

Perkins Coie earlier this month described similar distress. The firm lost clients and business as a result of Trump’s order, and its top 15 customers by revenue have US contracts or ties to them, Perkins Coie said in its March 11 lawsuit…

Jenner & Block said the portion of Trump’s order that restricts firm lawyers from accessing government buildings is particularly painful.

Unlike many other law firms, nearly 90% of Jenner’s attorneys focus on litigation, the firm said in a court filing. It currently has around 540 active matters pending before US courts and agencies that require access to federal buildings and officials, Perrelli said.

Part of the order barring Jenner’s lawyers from federal spaces is already being enforced, the firm said. The Justice Department told a firm client not to bring Jenner to an April 3 meeting.

Clients are already asking about how the order will hurt the firm’s ability to attend future meetings with other government agencies, according to Jenner’s filing.