The Justice Department has moved to disqualify Susman Godfrey as legal counsel for the American Bar Association in its ongoing lawsuit over Trump administration executive orders targeting Biglaw firms.
The administration filed its motion on Friday, invoking Rule 3.7 of the D.C. Rules of Professional Conduct as the basis for removing Susman Godfrey from the case.
The move comes after the DOJ previously subpoenaed Susman Godfrey, a step that now forms the central argument for why the firm should be barred from representing the ABA.
The underlying lawsuit centres on a series of executive orders that stripped disfavored law firms of security clearances, federal building access, and government contracts as punishment for the clients they represented and the lawyers they employed.
The ABA’s legal theory extends beyond challenging the orders as they applied to individual firms, arguing instead that the broader aim was to create a chilling effect across the entire legal profession.
Four firms that received executive orders took the administration to court and beat them, but the ABA contends the damage to the profession runs far deeper than those specific cases.
The association points to nine firms that cut deals worth $940 million in pro bono commitments as evidence that the threat of executive action was effective in coercing compliance across the industry.
Further evidence cited in the case includes a reported pattern of lawyers becoming reluctant to take on immigration pro bono work, which the ABA argues demonstrates a legal profession that no longer functions freely.
Judge Amir Ali had already denied the government’s motion to dismiss the case, after which discovery opened and the ABA began seeking White House documents related to the deals struck with law firms.
The administration’s decision to target the ABA’s legal representation rather than continue challenging the substance of the case marks a significant tactical shift in its approach to the litigation.
The disqualification motion places Susman Godfrey in the unusual position of being both a subpoenaed party and the counsel of record for the plaintiff, which the DOJ argues creates a conflict under professional conduct rules.
The outcome of the disqualification bid could have significant consequences for the ABA’s case, potentially forcing the organisation to find new legal representation at a critical stage of discovery.