The United States Department of Justice has initiated an immediate review of law firms following a directive from former President Donald Trump. This move is aimed at lawyers engaged in what has been termed “frivolous” litigation against the federal government. The focus is on reprimanding attorneys who have allegedly used legal processes as a means of undue interference with government operations. A rarely invoked tool, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, will be used to scrutinize and potentially sanction such practices.
The order from Trump directs a comprehensive review that stretches back eight years, aiming to identify and penalize behavior deemed as weaponizing lawfare—a term describing the use of legal systems and principles to achieve a purpose other than that for which they were originally intended. This directive tasks Attorney General Pam Bondi with spearheading the investigation and applying Rule 11, which is designed to prevent abuse of the judicial process by litigators.
This initiative follows previous high-profile interactions between the Trump administration and major law firms, such as an arrangement with the firm Paul Weiss. The firm reached a resolution with the then-administration to prevent the escalation of what was described as a potential crisis. While Rule 11 sanctions are infrequently enforced due to judicial conservatism in applying them, the directive marks a notable shift toward more aggressive legal oversight.
For more information, the details of the memo can be found on Bloomberg Law.