Perkins Coie Reaps the Whirlwind

Top Democratic Party lawyer Marc Elias and his then-law firm, Perkins Coie, played a disgraceful part in the Russia collusion hoax. I am not sure why no one in the Hillary Clinton campaign, nor anyone at Perkins Coie, was criminally prosecuted as a result of that fraud, which included the filing of false documents with the FEC. Perhaps investigators concluded that no crime was committed, or perhaps a policy decision was made not to bring criminal charges.

But now, the Trump administration has moved against Perkins Coie, in the form of an executive order signed on Thursday. Titled “Addressing Risks from Perkins Coie LLP,” it relates the law firm’s role in the Russia collusion fraud and documents its engagement in race discrimination.

[I]n 2016 while representing failed Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, Perkins Coie hired Fusion GPS, which then manufactured a false “dossier” designed to steal an election. This egregious activity is part of a pattern. Perkins Coie has worked with activist donors including George Soros to judicially overturn popular, necessary, and democratically enacted election laws, including those requiring voter identification. In one such case, a court was forced to sanction Perkins Coie attorneys for an unethical lack of candor before the court.

In addition to undermining democratic elections, the integrity of our courts, and honest law enforcement, Perkins Coie racially discriminates against its own attorneys and staff, and against applicants. Perkins Coie publicly announced percentage quotas in 2019 for hiring and promotion on the basis of race and other categories prohibited by civil rights laws.

The order directs a review of security clearances of Perkins Coie employees:

The Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and all other relevant heads of executive departments and agencies (agencies) shall immediately take steps consistent with applicable law to suspend any active security clearances held by individuals at Perkins Coie, pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.

The order also goes after Perkins Coie via its clients:

To prevent the transfer of taxpayer dollars to Federal contractors whose earnings subsidize, among other things, racial discrimination, falsified documents designed to weaponize the Government against candidates for office, and anti-democratic election changes that invite fraud and distrust, Government contracting agencies shall, to the extent permissible by law, require Government contractors to disclose any business they do with Perkins Coie and whether that business is related to the subject of the Government contract.
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[T]he heads of agencies shall:

(i) take appropriate steps to terminate any contract, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation, for which Perkins Coie has been hired to perform any service;

(ii) otherwise align their agency funding decisions with the interests of the citizens of the United States; with the goals and priorities of my Administration as expressed in executive actions, especially Executive Order 14147 of January 20, 2025 (Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government); and as heads of agencies deem appropriate. Within 30 days of the date of this order, all agencies shall submit to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget an assessment of contracts with Perkins Coie or with entities that do business with Perkins Coie effective as of the date of this order and any actions taken with respect to those contracts in accordance with this order.

Unless I am missing something, the order is not clear as to federal contractors who use the Perkins Coie law firm, but not in connection with the government contract at issue. At a minimum, this order should put whatever government contracting practice Perkins Coie may have out of business.

Beyond Perkins Coie, the order is a shot across the bow of large law firms generally:

(a) The Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shall review the practices of representative large, influential, or industry leading law firms for consistency with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, including whether large law firms: reserve certain positions, such as summer associate spots, for individuals of preferred races; promote individuals on a discriminatory basis; permit client access on a discriminatory basis; or provide access to events, trainings, or travel on a discriminatory basis.

(b) The Attorney General, in coordination with the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and in consultation with State Attorneys General as appropriate, shall investigate the practices of large law firms as described in subsection (a) of this section who do business with Federal entities for compliance with race-based and sex-based non-discrimination laws and take any additional actions the Attorney General deems appropriate in light of the evidence uncovered.

I doubt that there is a single large law firm in America that has not engaged in race discrimination, and other forms of illegal discrimination, always proudly. Here again, I have been puzzled for a long time as to why such blatantly illegal discrimination was allowed to persist.

How effective will the order be, as to discrimination? As in so many other instances, the administration is taking on a tough challenge. Law firms, like many other organizations, are ideologically committed to discrimination, especially race discrimination. Such practices may be driven underground, in the sense that law firms may stop bragging about them on their web sites. But will they actually stop? Doubtful.