The Daily Fuckup

The pressure campaign against Perkins Coie has drawn a response the White House did not seem to want: a much larger legal fight. On April 4, 2025, more than 500 law firms and law offices signed an amicus brief supporting Perkins Coie’s challenge to the executive order directed at the firm. The brief argued that the order threatened constitutional governance and the rule of law.

The filing landed in a case that was already moving through court. Perkins Coie had already challenged the order, and earlier rulings had temporarily blocked at least some parts of the administration’s effort. The new brief did not create the dispute, but it added a striking show of opposition from across the legal profession.

That matters because the administration’s approach was built to make a single firm feel isolated. Instead, the fight widened. The amicus brief turned one company’s legal problem into a profession-wide warning about retaliation, client choice and the risk of government punishment for legal representation.

The broader significance is straightforward: the order did not just trigger compliance pressure. It also produced organized pushback from firms that were willing to put their names on the line. That does not end the conflict, and it does not mean every firm will take the same stance. But the April filing made one thing plain: the attempt to single out Perkins Coie helped rally a far larger coalition against the order itself.