Justice Replaces Attorney on Big Law Executive Order Appeals

The Justice Department has tapped a new attorney to defend President Donald Trump’s punitive executive orders against major firms in two federal appeals court cases.

Abhishek Kambli, a deputy associate attorney general, entered a notice of appearance Wednesday in appeals of suits in which Jenner & Block and Susman Godfrey are challenging executive orders. Richard Lawson, who initially argued on behalf of the Trump administration, withdrew from the cases the same day.

Four federal judges struck down Trump’s executive orders against Jenner, Susman, WilmerHale, and Perkins Coie. The government appealed the decisions but the cases have been halted during the weeks-long government shutdown.

Kambli has been at the forefront in other high-profile administration matters. He defended Trump’s deportation of hundreds of alleged Venezuelan gang members in March and argued against an Illinois statute that requires some nonprofits to disclose demographic data, in line with the Trump administration’s targeting of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Kambli spent over six years as an US Air Force litigator before a nearly two-year stint as Kansas’ deputy attorney general.

Lawson is a longtime ally to Attorney General Pam Bondi. The pair worked together as local prosecutors in Tampa and later when Bondi became the state’s top lawyer. He then joined Bondi at the America First Policy Institute, a group founded to help drive the president’s agenda after his first term.

Trump’s only Big Law victories so far have come outside the courtroom. Nine top law firms including Paul Weiss, Kirkland & Ellis, Willkie Farr and Latham & Watkins reached agreements with Trump to provide at least $940 million worth of pro bono services collectively to avoid executive orders.