Harvard Law professors blast Trump crackdown in open letter
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
At least 94 professors at Harvard Law School signed a letter to students condemning the Trump administration's "severe" challenge to the rule of law and legal profession.
Why it matters: That's more than three-quarters of the elite school's active faculty, and the latest sign that some lawyers are pushing back on what are widely viewed as unprecedented attacks on the profession.
Zoom in: "[W]e are all acutely concerned that severe challenges to the rule of law are taking place," write the professors, including all of the school's deputy deans, as well as a few prominent names like Lawrence Lessig and Laurence Tribe.
- Interim dean John Goldberg did not sign.
What they're saying: "It's a lot of people with a lot of strong opinions about a lot of things," Sharon Block, a professor of labor law and one of the signatories, told Axios, emphasizing that the professors signed the letter in a personal capacity — and aren't speaking for the school.
- It's addressed to students because they are scared, and to show professors share their concerns, she said.
- "A lot of the people who signed this letter are not big 'open letter' people," Benjamin M. Eidelson, another signatory, wrote in a statement to the Harvard Crimson.
State of play: Other big names in the legal world have also spoken out against the administration's recent spate of executive orders, seen as retaliation against firms who've represented Trump opponents.
- The orders generally bar those firms from working for the federal government, and revoke security clearances.
- At least three prominent firms have filed suit against the White House. One, WilmerHale, is represented by conservative Supreme Court litigator Paul Clement.
- "If lawyers and law firms won't stand up for the rule of law, who will?" asks prominent litigator John Keker and his fellow senior partners at Keker, Van Nest, in an op-ed for the New York Times on Sunday.
Where it stands: Over the past week, two pillars of Big Law, Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps, cut deals with the administration.
- Rather than file lawsuits or protest, they agreed to spend tens of millions on pro bono work.
Zoom out: The letter from the law school professors is more mild than a similar missive from nearly 2,000 Big Law associates. But those younger lawyers signed anonymously.
- The law school professors never actually name the president. Instead, they list actions the White House has taken that they say threaten the rule of law, including:
- Singling "out lawyers and law firms for retribution";
- Threatening firms "for their lawyers' pro bono work or prior government service";
- Punishing "people for lawfully speaking out on matters of public concern."
Between the lines: With Republicans in control of Congress, the main pushback on the Trump administration has been coming from the courts.
- But Trump has been pushing hard there — calling for judges to be impeached if they issue orders that disagree with the administration.
- Already, Biden-era officials and nonprofits told the Wall Street Journal they've had trouble finding lawyers to defend them.
