March 26 (Reuters) – The American Bar Association and 55 other lawyer groups on Wednesday called for the legal profession to speak out against what they said was the U.S. government’s intimidation of judges, attorneys and law firms.

The joint statement, calling on lawyers from “Main Street to Wall Street” to speak out, comes amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and the legal profession.

President Donald Trump and other senior officials have called for the removal of judges who have ruled against the administration in its efforts to overhaul the federal government. Trump has also signed executive orders targeting three major U.S. law firms and individual lawyers at another major firm over their work for his Democratic adversaries and their internal diversity policies.

“There are clear choices facing our profession,” the bar groups’ joint statement said. “We can choose to remain silent and allow these acts to continue or we can stand for the rule of law and the values we hold dear.”

One of the firms targeted by a Trump executive order, Paul Weiss, struck a deal on Thursday with Trump to end the order. The agreement, which has drawn heavy criticism from many in the legal profession, was one that chairman Brad Karp said was necessary to keep clients and remain viable.

The White House did not immediately respond to request for comment on Wednesday, though it dismissed the ABA as a “snooty” organization of “leftist lawyers” earlier this month. The ABA declined to comment on Wednesday beyond the joint statement.

One of the other three firms, Jenner & Block, on Tuesday was singled out with a Trump executive order suspending security clearances for its lawyers and restricting their access to government buildings, officials and federal contracting work.

Four days earlier, Trump had ordered the U.S. Justice Department to recommend similar moves against lawyers and law firms that handle immigration cases or sued the government over the past eight years — a group that includes many of the largest U.S. firms.

Another firm targeted by a Trump executive order is Perkins Coie while another focuses lawyers at Covington & Burling. Perkins Coie filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration and a federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing much of its order.

“We reject the notion that the U.S. government can punish lawyers and law firms who represent certain clients or punish judges who rule certain ways,” the bar associations’ statement said.

Source: REUTERS