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360 DigiTech, Inc. Securities Fraud Investigation
Investigation Deadline: December 1, 2023
April 3, 2026
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Pro Bono Corner: Berger Montague Files Amicus Brief Challenging Trumps Executive Orders Targeting Law Firms
WASHINGTON, D.C. –Berger Montague, a leading national plaintiff law firm, has filed an amicus brief alongside U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Adam Schiff (D-CA), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee in support of Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, and Susman Godfrey, which are challenging the Trump Administration’s Executive Orders targeting them for representing clients and hiring lawyers President Trump dislikes. U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Chuck Hagel, former Secretary of Defense and Republican Senator, joined Senators Blumenthal and Schiff in filing the brief.
“If the federal government can attack and set out to destroy the business of any lawyers who represent people whom the President dislikes, people who stand up to the President will be unable to find lawyers,” said Berger Montague Shareholder F. Paul Bland. “This isn’t how our Constitutional system is supposed to work, and our clients, these courageous Senators who are speaking up against injustice, are working overtime to defend the rule of law.”
In the brief, the Senators warn that the Administration’s Executive Orders infringe on Senators’ First Amendment rights: “The Executive Orders stifle speech and distort public discourse. If opposing perspectives are targeted by the state, the First Amendment’s promise of a free marketplace of ideas is hollow. The voices of Senators—individually and collectively—must not be silenced or sidelined through fear or intimidation.”
The Senators also raised concerns that the Administration’s Executive Orders violate the Separation of Powers: “In our tripartite system of government, the legislative branch must be able to participate meaningfully in disputes implicating the powers of the federal government. When the Executive chills law firms from taking on politicized work, it undermines the ability of the legislature to check the Executive.”
“By interfering with the legislature’s ability to obtain independent legal assistance, the Orders strike at the heart of the constitutional framework. This Court should affirm the district court’s conclusion that such conduct is inconsistent with the structure of the federal government,” the Senators concluded.
In the lawsuit filed by the four firms, four separate district court judges issued orders enjoining enforcement of the Executive Orders, holding that the Executive Orders violated various constitutional provisions and were unenforceable. The government has appealed in each of the four cases to the D.C. Circuit. Although the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) moved to withdraw the appeals on March 2, 2026, President Trump reportedly personally intervened to order the DOJ to reverse its position and continue the appeals, which it did the following day.
As Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Blumenthal, along with Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD), demanded answers from top law firms that struck deals with the White House in order to avoid President Trump’s Executive Orders targeting the firms.
Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.
Media Contact:
Amy Wall-Monte
215.875.3021
awallmonte@bergermontague.com
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