NY Bar Association Weighs Trump Response as Members Seek Action

The president of the nation’s largest voluntary state bar association is weathering tensions among his ranks, seeking to stay apolitical while facing pressure to respond to President Donald Trump’s moves against law firms.

“We’re not stifling ourselves,” New York State Bar Association President Domenick Napoletano said in an interview with Bloomberg Law. “We’re speaking out when we feel our policies and members are being affected. Short of that, I have to keep a balanced and neutral approach.”

The group has put out statements this month condemning Trump’s measures as he’s intensified his scrutiny of the US legal system and battled with Big Law.

A NYSBA member faction is pushing for more. Some sent a letter to the New York Law Journal, saying they “call on all stakeholders” to maintain a depoliticized legal system. The group had been advised all statements should come from the president, a NYSBA spokeswoman said.

He didn’t sign it, and they sent it anyway.

“We look to our leaders to be our better angels, not to meekly stand by and watch our legal culture be destroyed,” Daniel Arshack, co-founder of the Bronx Defenders and one of the signatories, said in an interview.

Arshack’s now helping to organize members to sign an amicus brief for Perkins Coie’s lawsuit against Trump over an executive order targeting the firm. He’s also pushing for the association’s leaders or individuals members to take action, including litigation and demonstrations.

“Why have the bar associations not organized protests here?” said retired New York State Judge Mark Dwyer, who’s part of NYSBA’s criminal justice section and allied with Arshack. “If the bar associations tell us when to gather at Foley Square, I’ll be there.”

Trump Orders Sow Discord

The tensions at NYSBA are a rare schism in an interest group that tries to remain unified, even with a 55,000-member roster of opinionated attorneys from around New York.

NYSBA isn’t the disciplinary or regulatory body for New York’s legal industry—it’s a nonprofit that advances the interests of its members. It has sued to get court-assigned lawyers a raise and negotiated with the governor to gain funding for indigent civil legal services.

The group’s earlier actions include filing suit against Attorney General Janet Reno over a law prohibiting counseling someone on making asset transfers to qualify for Medicaid.

Trump has issued executive orders targeting three firms—Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss, and Jenner & Block—over their ties to his perceived enemies and work on cases opposing the president. The orders direct federal agencies to scrap contracts with the firms’ clients, revoke lawyers’ security clearances, and restrict their access to US buildings. Trump issued a directive aimed at a fourth firm, Covington & Burling, to pull security clearances for lawyers tied to former special counsel Jack Smith.

On Thursday, Trump issued an executive order against a fifth firm, WilmerHale, over its ties to Robert Mueller, the former special counsel who led a probe into the 2016 Trump campaign’s alleged coordination with Russian state officials.

Trump also directed US Attorney General Pam Bondi to “review conduct” by lawyers who engage in “frivolous, unreasonable, and vexatious litigation” against the US.

Paul Weiss chairman Brad Karp, who reached a deal with Trump to rescind the order targeting the firm, was listed as a co-chair of NYSBA’s Diversity Task Force this year. Karp didn’t respond to an email asking if he’s still co-chairing the group. A NYSBA spokeswoman said there’s been “no change in leadership.”

Past NYSBA president and current House of Delegates member David M. Schraver said he’s communicated with association leaders about the “very important role” the group should play.

“I think they’ve been a little more forthcoming recently in their statements,” said Schraver, of counsel at Nixon Peabody. “What they need to do next is consider whether their statements are having any effect.”

Long Island, Westchester

Similar issues are playing out at bar groups across the region. In bluer areas like Long Island’s Nassau County, the local bar association spoke up before others, condemning the orders.

The bar association for Nassau’s redder neighbor, Suffolk County, issued a statement March 26 saying “any governmental action tending to prevent or dissuade attorneys from representing unpopular clients or causes is a threat to our judicial system,” not naming Trump.

The Westchester County Bar Association signed onto a statement with other regional associations March 24 condemning Trump’s orders.

“We’re trying to arrive at the right balance between politics and standing up for the rule of law,” Westchester Bar Association President James K. Landau said in an interview. “But these days it’s difficult to parse those out.”