Trump just ordered the attorney general to report ‘frivolous’ lawsuits against his administration so he can consider executive actions against firms. Read the memo.

President Donald Trump on Friday continued his escalating attacks on Big Law, this time with a directive to Attorney General Pam Bondi: flag the law firms affiliated with "frivolous" lawsuits against his administration so they can be targeted for executive actions, like having their security clearances revoked.

followed a similar playbook in targeting law firms affiliated with his political opponents and those who participated in investigations against him. Since February 25, the president has ordered the revocation of security clearances for employees at Paul Weiss, Perkins Coie, and Covington & Burling. He also ordered a review of their government contracts, a major source of revenue for the firms.

On Thursday, Trump announced he planned to withdraw his executive order targeting Paul Weiss after the law firm agreed that it "will not adopt, use, or pursue any DEI policies" and promised $40 million in pro bono legal services. On Friday, he signed a new executive order reversing his March 14, 2025, order.

Practicing lawyers and legal scholars alike have criticized the Trump administration's moves against the industry. On Thursday, a Skadden associate, Rachel Cohen, publicly announced her resignation and lamented that the legal profession was not doing enough to stand up against Trump's attacks.

"Trump pushes the limits of everything: the legal boundaries, picking fights with massive law firms, he's calling for the impeachment of federal judges," Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and current trial lawyer, told Business Insider. "So look, say what you want about him, but he seems to be winning — or at least putting a lot of pressure on folks throughout the legal industry to capitulate and bend to his will."