NYCLA Strongly Condemns Executive Order “Addressing Risks from Paul Weiss” As A Calculated Effort to Undermine the Constitution

The New York County Lawyers Association (NYCLA) Officers today issued the following statement:

The officers and the Rule of Law Task Force of the New York County Lawyers Association strongly condemn the March 14, 2025 Executive Order entitled “Addressing Risks from Paul Weiss” (the “Order”) as an attack on the fundamental constitutional principles of our legal system, including, but not limited to, the right to due process, the right to free speech and right to petition the government, the right to counsel, and the concept that no one is above the law. 

Pursuant to the Order, the President unilaterally imposed severe sanctions on the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP.  The sanctions bar the firm’s attorneys from entering federal courthouses, appearing before federal agencies, and even engaging with federal employees.

The Order asserts that the firm’s main alleged “offenses” are that it “brought a pro bono suit against individuals alleged to have participated in the events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021,” and that one of its lawyers was on the team in the New York County District Attorney’s Office that supposedly “manufacture[d] a prosecution against the President.” The Order makes unsupported employment-discrimination allegations against Paul Weiss, “along with nearly every other large, influential, or industry leading law firm.” 

The Order came soon after similar executive actions against two other law firms, Covington & Burling and Perkins Coie.  Those firms were similarly sanctioned for the viewpoints of the clients that they had represented – George Soros and Hillary Clinton in Perkins’ case and Jack Smith in Covington’s case. These actions are all part of a fast-escalating and calculated effort to undermine the United States Constitution, attack the rule of law, and punish and silence those who are sworn to uphold it. 

Upholding the United States Constitution and the Rule of Law
The United States Constitution and the rule of law require that allegations of unlawful conduct be proven in court, that targets of those allegations be given a fair chance to defend themselves, that lawyers and their clients have the right to petition the government, including government agencies, and that all persons may select counsel of their own choosing. 

The President’s Executive Orders violate each of these core principles.

All these actions targeting law firms rest solely on the President’s own allegations.  Nor has any court ruled that either firm violated any statutes that call for any of the sanctions set forth by the Orders.  And to the extent that the legal authority for these actions supposedly derives from prior Executive Orders by this President, no court has upheld any of those Orders. 

None of these law firms had any notice that their conduct would subject them to sanctions.  Nor could they challenge the facts or the sanctions before the sanctions were announced. 

By unlawfully targeting and punishing specific law firms for bringing actions on behalf of clients the President does not like, these executive actions also attempt to deter lawyers from representing unpopular causes and clients, which effectively deprives the clients of their free speech rights and their full right to counsel in violation of the United States Constitution and the rule of law.

The freedoms of all Americans are protected by the United States Constitution and the rule of law.  For those freedoms to be safeguarded, the courts must be free to make fair decisions.  For the courts to make fair decisions, lawyers must be free to advocate zealously for every kind of client without fear of government threats or unlawful punishment.  The Executive Orders threaten the foundations of our most fundamental rights. 

About the New York County Lawyers Association
The New York County Lawyers Association (nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender, and has a long history of supporting the rights of LGBTQ+ people. Since its inception, NYCLA has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence. For more information on NYCLA please visit nycla.org.

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