Law firms hire former Tesla lawyer and top conservative litigator for Trump fight

As the Trump administration strikes at US law firms with a wave of executive orders, three firms challenging those orders have retained a former Tesla general counsel, a longtime conservative litigator and other top lawyers to represent them.

Veteran conservative and US Supreme Court attorney Paul Clement is representing law firm WilmerHale, and Silicon Valley-founded firm Cooley is representing Jenner & Block in their lawsuits against the administration of President Donald Trump, court papers show.

Fourteen partners at law firm Williams & Connolly signed a lawsuit filed by Perkins Coie on March 11, the first such case against the Trump White House in its crackdown targeting large firms and their client work. The Williams & Connolly team includes Dane Butswinkas, who was briefly the top lawyer at Elon Musk's electric vehicle maker Tesla.

There is a growing rift in the legal profession over whether and how to fight back against the administration in its pursuit of firms for their work for Trump's Democratic adversaries and their internal diversity policies.

Many large law firms with significant corporate client bases have not made public statements, but thousands of individual lawyers, the American Bar Association and other legal groups have been openly critical.

Two prominent Wall Street law firms — Paul Weiss and Skadden Arps — cut deals with the White House to avoid similar directives against them. The White House rescinded its order against Paul Weiss, and Skadden reached a deal before one was issued.

Clement in a statement on Friday said WilmerHale's lawsuit was "absolutely critical to vindicating the First Amendment, our adversarial system of justice, and the rule of law."

Perkins Coie, WilmerHale and Jenner & Block have told US judges that the executive orders are retaliatory and unlawful, violating provisions in the US Constitution that protect speech and due process.

Law firms and attorneys defending Jenner, WilmerHale and Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tesla, Paul Weiss and Skadden also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Restricting Access

Trump's orders have sought to cancel federal contracts held by the firms' clients and to restrict access by their lawyers to federal buildings and officials.

Perkins Coie in its lawsuit said it had lost a major government contractor as a client, and others were considering leaving the firm. The firms each predicted harm to their reputations, hurting revenue and the ability to recruit and retain employees.

The White House on Monday in a statement said Trump's executive orders against law firms "are lawful directives to ensure that the President's agenda is implemented and that law firms comply with the law."

Clement, who served as US solicitor general during the administration of George W. Bush, a Republican, has argued more than 100 cases before the high court.

Clement started a small firm — Clement & Murphy — in 2022 after splitting with law firm Kirkland & Ellis over its decision to no longer represent clients in gun-rights litigation.

Cooley's legal team for Chicago-founded Jenner & Block includes longtime trial lawyer Michael Attanasio, who was a lead trial lawyer for pro baseball star Roger Clemens in 2012 when he defeated federal charges that he lied about performance-enhancing drug use.

Musk in 2022 in a post on the platform then known as Twitter singled out Cooley and Perkins Coie, saying they were made up of "white-shoe lawyers" who "thrive on corruption."

Butswinkas of Williams & Connolly served as Tesla general counsel for several months, returning to the firm in 2019.

WilmerHale, Jenner & Block and Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Monday.

Three US judges in the lawsuits have blocked key parts of the executive orders while the litigation is pending.