Attorney General Bonta Issues Open Letter Urging Legal Community to Stand Together in Defense of Rule of Law Amid President’s Attacks

“Lawyers are not spectators to the Constitution; we are its agents…Law firms must refuse to bow to illegal and unconstitutional threats of retribution for having the temerity to represent clients and cases opposing the administration.” 

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, along with 20 other state attorneys general, issued an open letter urging the legal community to stand together in defense of the rule of law in response to President Trump’s recent attacks, including calling for the impeachment of federal judges and threatening retribution against law firms and attorneys who take or have taken positions in opposition to him or his Administration. Alarmingly, one major law firm – Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP (Paul Weiss) – has already acquiesced to President Trump’s demands for policy support in exchange for relief from the executive order targeting that law firm. The President’s recent orders and statements, and the failure of Paul Weiss to stand firm in response to these attacks, risks creating a chilling effect within the legal community. Today, Attorney General Bonta calls on all members of the legal profession and of state bars to stand with state attorneys general in refusing to bow to the President’s unlawful and undemocratic attacks on the practice of law and reaffirm their commitment to the zealous representation of their clients. 

“The President seeks to bully and intimidate federal judges, attorneys, and law firms that disagree with him or take positions he does not like – undermining the American legal system built atop the U.S. Constitution he two months ago swore to uphold,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I stand with state attorneys general across the nation in condemning the President’s recent actions and in urging members of the legal profession to stand firm in their principles. We must not falter in our resolve to uphold the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law. Our democracy depends on it.”

On Sunday, Attorney General Bonta issued a separate statement on the need to speak up and push back when our democratic norms are violated, our legal system undermined, and our laws broken. In today’s letter, Attorney General Bonta and a multistate coalition reiterate their commitment to the rule of law and stand firm in their support of the federal judiciary and judicial independence: 

“As state attorneys general, we have sworn oaths to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Rule of law is the bedrock of everything that makes our country great. Our economy, our rights and freedoms as citizens and residents, our lives and livelihoods are all protected by the fair and unbiased application of the law. We will not allow anyone, including the President, to bully law firms out of representing clients who may be politically disfavored, or clients out of being represented by counsel of their choosing. We will not sit by silently in the face of attempts to attack and intimidate the federal judiciary. We will not allow the rule of law to be undermined. We stand with all our colleagues in the legal community who place the ideals and values of their profession over obedience and silence.”

Attorney General Bonta joins the attorneys general of Delaware, Illinois, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington in issuing the letter. 

A copy of the letter is available here.