For the past two decades or so, conservatives have been systematically excluded from big law. Paul Clement was pushed out of two big law firms for his representation of conservative causes. A lawyer at Hogan Lovells was fired after defending Dobbs. Associates are routinely forced to do pro bono work on progressive causes, including abortion. But you will not find AMLAW 100 firms that filed an amicus brief in support of abortion restrictions. With good reason, boutique firms like Consovoy McCarthy and Clement Murphy have flourished. Big law firms have decided they would take a position on ideological issues, conservatives be damned. Maybe that was a good business judgment in the past, though those tides may have turned.
I don't think anyone would quibble with what I wrote above. But they would probably draw a distinction between a law firm making a business decision to favor progressive causes, and the government taking actions against a firm because of their political decisions. The Trump Administration's revocation of security clearances for attorneys at certain firms would be an example of the latter issue.
Is this sort of action unprecedented? Not really. I will repost below I wrote in 2016 about the origin of House of Representatives v. Burwell. This post was based on my 2016 book, Unraveled: Obamacare, Executive Power, and Religious Liberty. The bottom line: the Obama Administration indirectly pressured Baker Hostetler to drop its representation of the House. And that pressure worked. I'll add a coda at the end of the post.
