Shortly after President Trump issued the executive order targeting WilmerHale, the firm filed suit in federal district court. Like the suits filed by other law firms, WilmerHale’s complaint alleges the executive order violates the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. In addition, WilmerHale’s complaint argues that the executive order imposes unconstitutional conditions on government contracts in violation of Congress’s Article I spending power.
Specifically, the complaint alleges that by threatening to terminate any federal contract held by a WilmerHale client who refuses to end its relationship with the firm, the President has imposed a de facto condition on all federal contracts that the contractor is prohibited from hiring WilmerHale. This condition, the complaint alleges, is an unconstitutional interference with contractors’ attorney-client relationships.