Mar 3, 2026 - Politics & Policy

DOJ revives Trump's lawsuits against Big Law firms

Julianna Bragg

Trump sitting in a yellow chair with his index finger pointing, wearing a navy suit, white collared shirt and blue tie — President Trump in the Oval Office on March 3. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Justice Department on Tuesday withdrew its request to voluntarily dismiss its lawsuit appeals against Big Law firms representing or employing some of President Trump's critics.

The big picture: Changing a course set less than 24 hours earlier, the department asked the court Tuesday to disregard its Monday's order, saying it still wants to pursue appeals against the firms that won rulings against Trump's executive orders.

DOJ initially decided to dismiss the cases against Perkins Coie, WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey on Monday.
That decision followed an agreement by other prestigious law firms targeted by the president to provide almost $1 billion worth of legal work to the president instead of going to court.

What they're saying: All of the firms "oppose the government's unexplained request to withdraw yesterday's voluntary dismissal, to which all parties had agreed," per Tuesday's filing.

The Justice Department argued the court has the authority to grant its request because the mandate to finalize the dismissal has not yet been issued.
The filing does not provide a detailed explanation as to why the DOJ is retracting its decision. DOJ did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

What we're watching: It's unclear whether the appeals court will allow the DOJ to revive the cases after previously agreeing to dismiss them.

Go deeper: DOJ drops cases against law firms targeted in Trump orders

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DOJ revives Trump's lawsuits against Big Law firms

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